By Any Means Necessary
by Nate Texans
Summary: It's a new world where the dead walk, there's no government, no justice system, a world where it's truly survival of the fittest, where the strong prey on the weak, and there's only one rule. Survive by any means necessary! Can Jake, his two friends, and his teen cousin Jase use the skills they've acquired over their lifetime in order to ensure their and their groups survival? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Atlanta Group**

 **{A/N: OCs will be paired with canon characters just as canon characters will be paired with original characters. I don't find very many fics where female characters end up with male oc characters, so if this isn't something you like then I suggest you discontinue reading and ask that you don't, for lack of a better term, leave an asshole comment. Creative criticism is welcomed though. Since this is a fanfic things will be changed such as Andrea being 27 and Amy is 22 and doesn't die (spoiler). Feel I should inform you Carol in the fic is precisely 38 (instead of mid to late 40s). Also, I apologize ahead of time for dialogue changes, lack of detail, and grammatical errors, don't have spell check or a beta reader. Other than than, hope you enjoy.**

 **P.S.: DISCLAIMER (only one I'll do): I don't own The Walking only the OC characters which came from my own imagination (even though some of their occupations are unoriginal.**

 **P.S.S: Chapters will vary in length.**

 **Warnings: mentions of sex, some smut, bad-language, death, blood, bullets, cheating, sexual frustration, pairings you may not like, etc.}**

Standing at a table setup outside the tent he shared with his younger cousin, was 23 year old former Army Ranger Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jake 'Tex or J' Gonzalez who was six feet tall with light brown skin, medium length dark hair that still showed a bit of his disconnected fade combover, green with a haze of grey colored eyes, and a short thick dark beard. He wore a dark grey thin short sleeved athletic shirt that clung to his broad shouldered lean form and covering his three tattoos and slightly outlining his dogtags as well as his six pack when he took a deep inhale, tactical gloves, a pair of dark blue cargo pants, and black combat boots.

Laying on the table in front of him was a MK 16 Mod 0 SCAR equipped with a suppressor, strap, interchangable scopes, flashlight, foregrip, IR laser, but was currently unloaded with a couple dual mags beside it. Next to that was a suppressed M39 EMR with a bipod, flashlight, IR laser, a strap, and interchangable scopes with two mags. A supressed MARSOC 45 ACP with two mags, a MOD H.E.C.K knife, Mtech knife, Ruger Vaquero, a machete, and lastly a Oneida Kestrel Compound bow with a quiver of 10 arrows.

He'd already packed a few glow sticks, some flares, a military walkie talkie, an MPK with an extra mag, crackers, small bag of pretzels, a few protein bars, a jacket, some water bottles, and a box of Ruger Vaquero ammo. The former SFC even went as far as to pack 3x frags, 3x flashbangs, 3x smoke, and 3x concussion grenades in case he and the others came across a herd or people who want to kill and loot him, they would serve as a means of either protection or distraction. Lastly, as a last resort a couple blocks of C4.

"Which are you thinking of taking?" The voice of his best and oldest friend, since they were nine, Aaron 'Bear' Gomez asked sounding curious.

Jake turned his gaze to the left to see the three males who were his brothers in all but blood except one, the last piece of family he truly had remaining. He could say how the rest of the camp of survivors had grown to feel that way but other than a certain few it wouldn't be true.

Aaron 'Bear' Gomez was 23 years old and a former Army Ranger Staff Sergeant (SSG) who stood 5'10" tall with brown skin, short dark hair covered by a grey baseball cap, sunglasses over his light brown eyes, and thick dark beard. His broad shouldered muscular torso with a bit of a gut and two tattoos were covered by dark blue shirt, tactical gloves, grey cargo pants, and brown combat boots. Across his back was a suppressed SR-25 with interchangable scopes, bipod, flashlight, dual mag, and IR laser. On his left thigh was a survival knife (Rambo), on his right a suppressed Colt 1911, and on the back of his belt was a brass knuckle handle knife.

To his friends left was his second oldest friend was 22 year old Tyrone 'Rone or TJ' Jackson who before the outbreak was going to college and was double majoring to be a electrical engineer and mechanical egineer and while just doing one was hard, his friend never backed down from a challenge seeing as on a good night he got six hours of sleep and a bad one either three or four, but it didn't stop him. He even quit his job as a forklift driver at a warehouse just to stay on track, but luckily he was attending college on a full scholarship.

Rone stood at 5'11" tall with lightly tanned milky skin, medium length brown hair, short thick brown beard, grey with brown eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses, and short thick brown beard. His thin yet toned torso with a flat belly and three tattoos was covered by a red athletic shirt, he also wore a pair of blue jeans with a suppressed M9 Beretta on his right thigh, a curved machete across his back, bowie knife on his left thigh, and was holding a suppressed AR-15 that had a foregrip, dual mag, flashlight, and IR laser.

Jason 'Jase' Gonzalez was Jake's 17 year old cousin who before the Outbreak was a highschool senior who played sports, had an A-grade averade, and worked part-time as mechanic for some extra cash with hopes of joining the Marines after graduation. The teen stood 5'10" tall, with light brown skin, short dark hair, green with a touch of light brown colored eyes, and a dark thin stubble beard. His thin but muscled athletic body with a tattoo was covered by white muscled shirt, a pair of black basketball shorts covering most of his legs, and sneakers on his feet showing that today was one he'd be relaxing though as a precaution he had on his shoulder holster which held a suppressed Glock and two extra mags.

Other than his brothers, the Harrison sisters Andrea and Amy, the Peletier women Carol and her daughter Sophia, Glenn, on occasion the Dixon brothers there wasn't much bonding going on with everyone else.

Well that wasn't true becase he also interacted with Lori Grimes, but a lot of the time they just fucked and she was quite skilled there's no denying that. At first when they started 'interacting' they both felt guilt seeing as she was married but her husband was dead while J had been dating a girl for three years who before the Outbreak went to visit her family and the two kept in-touch, up until phones became worthless and now he didn't know whether she was dead or alive and sure she could take care of herself, more so after he took to teaching her to fight and using a gun, and while he liked to think she was alive it was possible he may never see her again. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that she and her family could've left their home and sought out safety elsewhere but there was no real way of knowing. They both felt guilt for their actions though finding release with someone who knows almost exactly how you feel made it less wrong.

Alhough, he wasn't the only one of the group she fucked and he knew that and was cool with it, it was the end of the world after all and she was a grown woman who could do what she wanted and with whoever she wanted to do it with. Shane who thought he was the sole leader of their group, even though it was a Democracy had saved her and Carl her son, who Jake was nice with, after everything went to shit and even started this camp with her, she was co-leader along with two others, was the other person she was fucking. Though, in her words Jake pleasured her better and knew how to keep emotions out of it, he even used condoms when he had them and when he didn't he fucked her ass to be safe, while Shane was the opposite and was tresspassing into emoitonal territory that he shouldn't.

Everybody else he was somewhat on friendly ground with but they tended to keep their distance because two days after he and his brothers' intial 'friendly' first impression he witnessed Ed Peletier assault his wife, Carol, and instantly went to over to push the man away and place himself between them acting as a shield for the woman. Carol had tried to defend the man, but Jake quickly told her that what he did wasn't right and going back to him could only result in bad things continuing to happen and possibly worse if he decided to treat his daughter the same way which caused her to stop and allow him to protect her and Sophia, it angered Ed.

The Peletier male had tried to reach around him and forcefully take his wife and daughter, but J instantly pushed his hands away which only angered the man even more and it showed in his eyes. He tried again, but Jake quickly shot the attempt down yet again and it appeared to be the last straw. Ed seemed to have had enough and thinking he could win, threw a punch at the former SFC only to have it blocked then proceeded to get his ass beat. It took both Bear and Tyrone to forcefully pull him away and it was only after seeing the scared looks of almost everyone around them, did he calm down.

Shane had wanted to kick him out, but if he did then the three he came with and the Harrison sisters would leave too and take with them the firepower they brought themselves which was plent of weapons, ammunition, gas, and other gear which were a necessity for survival. Plus, it served to have two highly trained former military men, an almost electrical and mechanical engineer, and a teen who spent most his life learning about cars which he fixed and built in his spare time who all of knew how to fight, hunt, tell what was edible and what wasn't, and lastly actually wield weapons correctly which would help the groups chances of survival.

So, they were 'allowed' to stay and since they were they moved Carol and Sophia away from Ed and into a new tent between the ones Jake was sharing with Jase and the one Bear shared with Tyrone. It was labelled the safest place in camp and due to the threat the four posed, Ed, kept his distance and Shane kept an eye on them.

Two weeks after the situation there was a meeting which by the end of it had four members in charge of the group Shane because he was an ex-cop, Lori cause she was part founder of the camp, Bear because of his army background, and Tyrone because he was quite possibly the smartest person in the group. Since then everyone started pulling their own weight around camp, even Shane who was forced to stop considering himself King and the groups glorified bodyguard who had to do nothing else but watch them which was put to an end.

He disliked Shane very much and if given the chance would kick the mans ass because he still acted like the leader of the group and tried to boss them around, when he tried it on Jake the former SFC just flipped him off and said he didn't listen to him. It ticked the former cop off but since then they didn't interact. If J were to be honest he sorta respected the man knowing he'd go to great lengths to protect Carl and Lori, but knew it would also be at the expense of everyone else even if it meant them all dying, and it usually even it out.

It was quite funny how the former deputy didn't know he wasn't the only one fucking Lori nor was he the best one either according to the Grimes woman and if he did know then he hasn't said or done anything about it. He knew that piece of information to be true, because if the man had known then he would've started shit with him and Lori but had done neither.

"The SCAR with a suppressed long barrel which takes accuracy off but I doubt I'll have to shoot too far into the distance, the MARSOC 45, MOD H.E.C.K knife, Mtech knife, and the Ruger Vaquero, three of each ordinance at our disposal except for C4 I only grabbed two bars as a just in case, I've also taken extra ammo for the guns, and grabbed some small snacks just in case" he answered low enough so only the three other males could hear seeing as nobody except for Andrea and Amy, who could keep a secret, know they had explosives with them. It was kept a secret simply because if others found out then they'd want some and nobody was really trained to use them properly nor were they trusted to have them.

"Sounds like a wise choice, brother" Bear nodded as he walked over to the table and grabbed the M39 along with the bow and quiver of arrows before taking them over towards their trailer which only the four of them and the Harrison sisters knew what was inside which was guns and ammuntion of all sizes and calibers though they told everyone it held their extra gear which it did but also a '69 which it didn't.

"I'll take this into the tent" Jase claimed before grabbing the machete and taking it into their joint sleeping space where it would be placed under his cot.

"I know what you're going to say Rone and I promise that no matter what happens, I will make sure that Andrea comes back to you and Amy" his gaze shifts over towards his second oldest friend who gives him a satisfied look then a nod before walking over towards the Harrison sisters' tent to more than likely talk with his older blonde lover and maybe fuck seeing as they still had a good hour before the group was to head out, which was more than enough time.

"Jake..." a small voice called out followed by a sniffle and he turned to his left again only to this time see Sophia looking up at him with worried eyes that had tears pooling in the corners as she held her doll tightly to her chest and the sight broke his heart. The two had grown close since he 'rescued' her and Carol from Ed and according to Bear she worried for him everytime he went out on a run. The man then said it was probably because she looked up to him as their protector and he had possibly a father figure to her seeing as he's already treated the young Peletier better since their arrival than her father probably had the girls whole life.

"I'm going to come back Soph" the former SFC tells the child softly, knowing exactly what she was worried about, though loud enough for her to hear him before walking over and kneeling in front of the young brunette as he slowly lifts his hands to her cheeks and wipes away the tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "Have I ever lied before?" J asks her and she shakes her head but still doesn't appear reassured. A childs fear knows no bounds, especially when growing up with a father like she had.

"You know what, why don't you hold onto these and protect them for me until I get back?" He questions, after a couple moments of silence, while reaching towards his neck and pulling off his dogtags which he then slides over her head and lets it rest at her neck where the pieces of metal hang lower than they do on him landing on her belly. "Do we have a deal?" She gives grabs the tags and looks at them for moments before giving a small nod then lunging at him and wrapping her small arms around his neck. It takes him a moment having been caught off guard before he returns the gesture.

"Sophia?" Carol's slightly worried voice calls out and the two pull apart and turn in the direction the older Peletier's voice came from just in time to see her come from around the corner while her gaze ran over the camp in search of her daughter.

"Over here, mama" Sophia calls out to her mother who turns and her eyes immediately soften and grow calm seeing that her daughter was in view of everyone and with one of the safest people in the entire camp. The elder Peletier woman had also been growing close with him since he'd taken to showing her how to defend herself and use a handgun and during that she tended opened up about her life.

"There you are baby, I told you to stay with Lori and Carl" the grey, almost silver, haired woman haired lightly scolded her daughter, but he could tell there was no real heat behind her words only worry because her little girl wasn't where she left her or listened to the instructions that were given.

"I'm sorry, mama. I just wanted to talk to Jake before he left" Sophia replied sounding like the small worried and fear filled child that she was, though her fear was based on the thought that she might be in trouble with her mom and no longer about what her father might do or say.

"I understand that sweetheart and I'm not mad. Just, next time wait for me, okay?" Carol asked her daughter who gave her a nod then looked down at the floor with guilt knowing that she worried her mother. "Good, now go and finish your school-work" she intructs the young brunette who after another nod glances briefly back at Jake before going on her way, J had been watching the child the entire way just to make sure she got to her destination safely.

"She looks up to you, you know" Carol stated causing the former SFC to break his gaze away from the young brunette, who after taking a seat sent them a quick glance before looking down at the paper in front of her, and looked up to see the grey haired woman still watching her daughter.

"Yeah, I know. It's sort of a new thing, having a young girl look up to me..." J replies before pushing himself up to his full height causing Carol to turn her gaze on and up to him with a raised eyebrow in silent question. "I've had a couple young males look up to me over the years, but never a young girl seeing as either they naturally prefer or are taught by their parents to idolize strong women and to strive to be like them. She may look up to me now, but that young girls being idolizing you her entire life, I doubt she'll ever find someone as brave, strong, or loving" he explains in a soft and knowing tone and watches as Carol flushes slightly at the compliment but her eyes and the way she wraps her arms around herself show that she didn't believe she was all those things, but she was and he'd remind her again and again if he had to.

He's been watching the woman standing before him slowly break out of her shell that was made from the fear and pain her husband or rather ex-husband created around her all those years ago which, in a horrible way turned her into a survivor. Though now in this new world where she's free from the man who caused her all that pain, she's becoming the person she always should've been. A fighter, but while it may be coming along slowly, it was still coming.

"I hope this doesn't scare you or make you start treating her differently, in a bad way cause that would break her heart, but in the few weeks since we've met you and you saved us and shown my little girl more care than her own father has her entire life, she thinks of you as a father figure and sadly, it's taken twelve years the world ending for her to find one" Carol tells him while looking slightly nervous at her claim about what his reaction would be. This wasn't new information too him and seeing as he hasn't done anything to stop it, he didn't mind at all and if her were honest he actually quite enjoyed it.

He'd honestly once thought of settling down and having kids, but at the time he was in the Army and with him being away a lot of the time he felt it was better to wait because he wanted to be a full-time who was around for everything and not away fighting a war and missing out on so many things. Plus, it wasn't like he was dating women who were exactly at a place in their lives where they wanted kids. His current or recent girlfriend, depending on whether she was still alive or not, had been his longest relationship and knew she wasn't ready seeing as she had an IUD put in, but they did have 'someday' talk and he never told anyone but he was actually looking forward to it.

Then the world had to go and enter the apocalyptic age throwing him a curveball when he'd been prepared for a fastball down the middle.

"It doesn't scare me, if that's what you're thinking. In all honesty, I've always sort of wanted kids, but being a soldier and the occupation that followed after I got out and me wanting to be there for it all put a hold on things. While she may not be mine or you may not even want her thinking of me that way, I'd care for and protect that little girl til my dying breath" Jake claimed in a serious yet gentle and genuine tone that showed he meant what he said and would've be backing down from doing so no matter what anyone said. His gaze met hers and he could see she was trying to hold back tears and he couldn't tell why exactly they were falling since several emotions were mixed into one.

"Thank you" is all she got out and he knew had the woman kept going she wouldn't have been able to keep her tone steady and likely end breaking down in tears. He didn't want her to cry, she'd done enough crying over the years because of the man that was her husband and he had no intention of being like Ed and making her cry for his own pleasure. He'd never want that, he'd only accept tears of joy.

"Anytime" Jake tells her briefly prior to softly pulling her into a hug which causes the short haired woman to tense up though it's only lasts a second before she returns the hug with her forehead resting against the top of his shoulder. "You know, you may not know it but you've been that little girls mother and father her whole life, so don't think she never had one. That girl is safe and if who she is because of you" he adds sounding serious and her eyes are wide at his statement and can tell she never thought of it that way but after a moment nods.

"You make sure and come back for her, for your brothers, and for the rest of us. The others don't see it but you're more important to their survival than they realize" Carol informs him softly before pulling away, he supposes she didn't register the kiss she reached up and placed on his cheek until after doing it. "I'll see you when you return" the short grey haired woman says quickly before walking away towards where her daughter looks hard at work while rubbing his tags, without leaving him any time to respond.

With a sigh and seeing as he had around a good fourty minutes before he and the others who'd be tagging along on the run were to set out. He might as well make sure his bladder and intestines were clear for the road, there won't be much time, if any, for rest stops. They were going to get in and back out as soon as possible or at least before nightfall when things usually got worse.

Signaling to Bear who was returning from the trailer where he was going and getting a nod he headed off into the woods to do his business. J was unaware of the pair of eyes that followed him and shortly after he was out of sight excused themselves from what they were doing and discretely as possible followed after him.

He was taking a wizz, cause the urge to shit hadn't been present, about a five minute walk from camp which gave him plently of privacy as well as time to fully clear his head before getting it in the game when he heard a branch snap behind him and before he cold turn around a voice, a female voice spoke out.

"Need someone to help you shake..."

 **A/N:So, like I said some characters are OOC and many things have changed. If this fic isn't for you and if this idea has been overused and it annoys you then I suggest you stop reading but be nice enough not to leave a (for lack of a better term) asshole comment and just go on your way. As always constructive criticism is welcomed. I had the idea for this fic because I couldn't find many OC males paired with female canons, mostly female OCs paired with canon males. Many more changes will be happening in this fic. As always I apologize for grammatical errors and if my writing isn't that great. One last thing, update times may vary due to well life and all that. Til Next Time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Run Gone Wrong**

 **{A/N: Website kept messing up the chapter when I posted it and I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out to me, so thank you guest (whoever you are) for bringing that to my attention. Hopefully this time is the charm.}**

"This is insane! You know that, right!?" Glenn whispered shouted as he stood at the kitchen entrance as he watched the wide open front door of the restaurant, which they found four blocks and two streets over from the department store the others were taking refuge in, to make sure no walkers would catch them off-guard. The Korean male looked over his shoulder briefly too see Jake placing the last of the C4 next to a gas line which he then busted open with the butt of his rifle.

 **-Two Hours Earlier-**

After getting some 'assistance' and fully 'clearing' his 'head' Jake had made his way back to camp with a little over ten minutes to spare and when he arrived nobody was the wiser seeing as everyone knew he tended to go out to clear his mind before every run he went on and therefore, they didn't question anything. The former SFC had then made his way into his tent where he began to throw on his gear which consisted of a vest where he filled the pockets with ammo, weapons on both his thighs, another in his boot, and on his belt. Afterwards he grabbed his hat, sunglasses, and keys to the SUV the group would be taking with him driving before exiting his tent just as Lori appeared from the tree line.

She was quickly bombarded with questions as to where she'd been and why she was there for so long by her son Carl and, to what looked like her annoyance, Shane who didn't seem to suspect a thing seeing as he hadn't spared him a single glance and instead just checked her over while in a state of worry. Damn, he must've been a shit cop. When the shaggy haired mans gaze had run over lower parts of her body she shot J a glance that only lasted a split sec before looking away then searching to see if anyone caught it which they didn't.

'She's going to have to fuck him later just to shut him up' he thought to himself and wanted to laugh at how insecure and needy the former deputy was with Lori. It was sad, really.

Jake, sometimes wondered how Shane would react if he and Lori's fucking in the woods, which the man thought was some sort of relationship, were to come to an end. It probably wouldn't be pretty seeing how attached and lovesick the former deputy had become. He knew if Lori and his own screwing in the woods had come to an end it wouldn't bother him one bit, sure it started off as seeking comfort in one another but recently it just became them seeking sexual relief with one another.

Sure, it would mean no more non-self pleasuring but he understood that what they were doing didn't really mean anything to the other, no emotions attached which actually worked cause neither were looking for it. Plu, there were already enough growing with dickhead dumbass.

The former SFC turned around only to find Bear looking at him with that knowing look that wasn't judgemental least not fully, but Jake just shrugged it off and headed for the SUV where the others who'd be tagging along were saying bye to their loved ones, except for Merle since Daryl had left that morning to go hunting. When he was about to walk pass his oldest friend, the other male turned on his heel and began walking just in time to fall into step beside him.

"You know, you two may get you in trouble one of these day, brother" Aaron told him with a voice that both warned him of possible consequences while also and cautioned him about his actions. Jake already knew the pros and cons about what he was doing with Lori in the woods and, maybe once in his tent, the group was to become aware of their actions, well those who weren't his inner circle, especially if former deputy dick were to find out.

Honestly, he didn't fear the man who would more than likley come after him and should that happen he wouldn't hesitate to kill the fucker, neither would Bear if he were honest about who of his group would actually pull the trigger though he did fear what he'd try with Lori and while he knew the woman could take care of herself, he still worried. No way she can have have a strong yet soft Kung-fu grip while stroking or massaging someones crotch area that doesn't show she's dangerous and could easily snap anyones dick in two or crush their marbles she pleased.

Plus, he knew she wasn't opposed to fight dirty if the way she sometimes fucked was anything to go by.

He supposes along the way he's sort of come to think of her as a friend, even if they mostly just fucked, seeing as they knew each other both on a physical and emotional level and tended to talk after their fucking, but never cuddled or anything of the sort. They just understood what the other was feeling and where it was coming from though on different levels of course. Then again, love was love no matter the level which you experienced it at.

"Yes I do and while I know you want to give me the whole watch your ass and you're playing it too close to the chest speech, know that I already know all of that. Though, have you ever known me to do anything other than play it close to the chest?" The elder of the two replied with a small smirk and by the sigh his best friend released he knew he'd won that argument. Can't really chastise someone for what their doing when they already know what they were doing and the consequences it could bring when they already know that as well, but have it covered along with not afraid to endure the consequences.

"Well, I say you put some space between you and that bullet or get the fuck out of the way entirely, but what would I know?" Bear exclaimed lowly, but grumbled the end though knew h'd be able to hear him loud and clear.

"I get it, brother and I'll heed your advice. No need to worry so much because I'm going to be around to give you grey hairs and when you and Amy start, even in this shitty new world, popping me out some nephews and nieces I'll spoil them and make sure when they grow up they give you more grey hairs, heck maybe even Bullseye will have a head full of white" Jake teased his friend trying to lighten the mood which seemed to work because the slightly shorter male smiled before lightly chuckling while shaking his head.

"Plus, the fat lady hasn't sung yet though I suppose that's only because she's probably already gotten herself eaten" this get his friend to fully crack up. While Jake wasn't the funniest person, he and Bear have known each other most of their lives and along the way his best friend and gotten use to and understood his shitty humor.

"Yeah, well let's hope then that the undead can't sing" Bear responded getting Jake to crack up as well which earns them confused and weird looks from the others but they don't care. They wouldn't get their shitty humor anyway.

After that they reached the group and J started saying his byes to Amy who he also promised that he would look out for Andrea and bring her back, Rone, Jase, even Carol and Sophia had come to say their byes to the others who they were friendly with and see them off. Bear was the last one he'd spoken to and it went without saying that he wanted his friend to watch over the Peletier women, Amy, Jase, and Rone because while they could take care of themselves he just wanted to make sure they didn't get caught with their pants down should they let their guard down for even a second. He also wanted him to keep an eye on officer dickhead.

It took them around an hour to get from the Quarry to the department store he and Glenn found on their last run into the city which looked like a good place to hole up seeing as it had three exits. After making sure the group was safe and secure in the building which took another five minutes, the two then headed out in search of somewhere that had enough stuff to loot which wouldn't be easy seeing as there were walkers everywhere and most of the stuff had already been looted when this all started or had been destroyed by the napalm the army unleashed on the city or even other survivors which they were most weary of encountering.

The two had only managed to clear two buildings with Jake doing much of the killing, but luckily it was mostly nothing but stragglers which weren't much of a hassle. No, the pain in the ass part was going from room to room in search of anything useful through two to three story buildings that each had an open spaced first floor that weren't very secure to search. Then again the street they were on was mostly department stores and small office businesses that each had nothing more than a few cans of food and some drinks in the cabinets and fridge. He lucked out when he found a box of cigars in the head honchos office in one of the buildings, but didn't tell Glenn.

They were about to head back to the others and maybe move to a new spot when they heard gun shots ring out from nearby and seeing as they were already near the stairs, the two of them headed for the roof of the building and were about to approach the ledge closest to the shots when the former SFC came to his senses and training which caused him to halt both their charges. He told the Korean male he'd check it out first before slowly and cautiously making his way over to the edge and looked over.

Down below on the street was a man in a deputy uniform who had a bag of guns on his back and who was just thrown from his horse which was quickly taken down and began being devoured by a herd of walkers while others started chasing after him. He gestured for Glenn to approach which the shorter male did just in time to watch side by side as the lone man crawled under the tank where he'd more than likely be eaten.

Glenn had thought the man dead, but J had been in a tank before and knew that the one down below on the street, specifically, had a hatch at the bottom which the man could've found and used to climb into the armored assault vehicle that would've provided him an escape. He was proven right when he heard a low gunshot come from inside the tank and knew the man was alive inside and killed a walker or was killed by another person who had taken up refuge in the same place.

"Hey, dumbass, yeah you..." he heard Glenn say and turned to see his companion already on his radio and contacting the idiot down below. If he fired out unsuppressed rounds like that he either just crawled out from under a rock or was a complete and total idiot.

 **-x-**

A few minutes later he found himself at the entrance to an alley with a smoke grenade in his pocket while firing off shots into the heads of walkers that were near and trying to eat them as they waited for the dumbass who was firing off rounds from his revolver into anything that got near him. When the unknown man reached them he and Glenn quickly bolted down the alley towards the fire escape half-way down while Jake pulled the grenade from his pocket followed by the pin before tossing it on the ground a couple feet away.

It didn't explode or anything but the hiss it let out along with the smoke disrupted the walkers senses of sight, smell, and sound and since the shooting had stopped the three of them weren't making much sound they were able to buy some time along with putting some distance between themselves and the undead. Still they figured it was best they took the fire escape and then made their way across two different roofs and through one building before taking a flight of stairs to the ground level where they entered an alley where there were three walkers which Jake quickly took out without much hassle.

The three then made their way over towards the door that led into the department store where their group was holed up and pounded on the door which after a few minutes burst open with Morales and T-Dog charging out in protective gear with bats raised only to halt their assault seeing two members of their group, one new guy who was named Rick and a former deputy which felt like a coincidence, and three dead walkers.

"Everyone inside, quickly" the former SFC ordered the others who did as they were told and piled inside. He'd just finished closing and locking the door when he turned to find Andrea pushing Rick back against a table with her silver Beretta in his face and threatening the uniform wearing man. He knew the point was to instill fear and not actually kill seeing as the guns safety was on and knew it was done on purpose, he and Bear taught Ty who in turn taught her and you better believe the blonde knew how to work a safety.

Not wasting any time he quickly put one hand on Andrea's gun and began lowering it down then put his other on her stiff shoulder which he pushed lightly and led her out of the room and into the open floor. The anger she showed faded and her shoulders relaxed slight as she let out a sigh.

"Hey, I promised both Rone and your sister that I'd get you back to them and I plan to keep my word. I know we're in a shit storm right now, but that doesn't mean we can't survive it. So, calm down a bit, keep your head leveled, and stay positive because we're going to make it" he softly tells the blonde who takes a deep breath and slowly releases it in an effort to calm herself like she was instructed to do. She gave him a slight nod to let him know she was okay and he removed her hands from shoulder.

Everyone came in then and they all seemed a little on edge, but were somewhat calming down. That is until gunshots started ringing out from the roof and whatever calmness the group had scrounged up was gone. It was then he turned to look out the front doors to see the number of walkers piled up against it and he had to stop himself from groaning in annoyance.

'Yeah, we definitely in a shit storm' he thought to himself.

Jake, stood there in his camouflage army jacket, combat gloves, a cowboy hat, and laslty weapons strapped to his body with his rifle in hand as he stared through the glass panes of the department stores front doors where a herd of walkers were gathered and trying to get in while the others of his group had rushed up the stairs to the roof where Merle was raining unsuppressed shots at the things trying to get in and eat them. How everything went to shit not long after their arrival was a medium to long lengthed story, but could easily be cut down to a short one but there's no story in that.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts he headed up to the roof just in time to find T-Dog laying down looking beaten, Rick on the floor holding his face, and Merle pointing his gun at everyone and declaring himself leader of the group. 'Great, Yondu's high' he thought to himself before raising his gun and emerging from the stairwell making his presence known.

"Lower the rifle Dixon" he said in a serious authorative tone and leveled the older man with a glare that informed him that J wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in him. While he respected Merle seeing as he too was former military and a skilled hunter, the man was a druggie and when he was high there was no negotiating with him or any drugged up person really.

Fortunately, before Merle could say or do anything that would make things worse Rick had gotten to his feet and snuck up behind Yondu and proceeded to knock the mans rifle away from planting one across his jaw knocking him down. The former deputy then proceeded to handcuff the eldest member of the group by one hand to a firmly planted and immovable pipe while the Dixon asked who the hell the man thought he was, to which Rick replied he was officer friendly and Jake almost snorted.

After that T-Dog tried to radio into the group and tell them that they were trapped and needed assistance and while the message got across it was scratchy and weren't able to get a reply back. Rolling his eyes at the shitty gear the group had and took off his bag then went through it until pulling out his radio and turning it.

"Jake, dammit respond!" Was the first thing he heard come over the radio in Bears voice once he turned it on which caught the attention of everyone. "If you don't answer me asshole I'm going to find you and kick your ass!" He wasn't pissed, you'd know when the muscular man was pissed, his oldest friend was worried.

"Any other time and I'd say I love when you talk dirty to me, which I know I just said, but right now just isn't the time. So, shut up and listen. We're in a department store about an hour Northeast of the Quarry with no way out the backdoor because of a bus blocking the way and a heard of walkers on our front doorstep. The others are going to disagree with me with what I'm about to say, but don't come for us..." at this everyone started shouting calling him crazy and stupid while also in different forms asking the same damn question of why, but he ignored them.

The were about to jump him and take the walkie seeing as they thought him crazy, but halted their movements when he raised his hand up signalling for them to stop.

"We don't have any vehicles back at camp large enough to fit us all and even if you came in the Bearcat while hauling ass you won't get here in an hour less so if walkers now crowded the streets and you certainly won't reach us before the undead break through the windows down below and get in, you'll just be sacrificing more people. So, best you can do is keep everyone calm where you are and know that I'm going to get us out of here and home to everyone else by making things go boom" he told his best friend and it seemed everyone shut their mouths when they realized, well except Rick, that he was right about their vehicle situation which destroyed their arguments but they also seemed to be confused when they wondered about making things go boom.

"Fine..." Bear exclaimed with a sigh "but if your ass ain't back here before nightfall I'm taking the BC and heading out that way, got it?"

"Roger that, see you soon brother" with that Jake turned the radio off knowing to save the battery, he didn't have much of a charge in the first place since there wasn't really anywhere to charge the damn thing.

"Alright, before any of you speak here's the plan. I'm going to lure the walkers away and when I do, you're going to head for the SUV and proceed to get the fuck out of here. I don't want any arguing, just do as I say or stay here and waste time. Don't worry about me I'll meet you guys back at camp" the former SFC said with authority that he hadn't used in a while letting the group, who definitely wanted to argue, that he wouldn't be hearing it. "When those fuckers move from the windows you make a run for it" he added before pulling the keys to the SUV from his pocket and tossing them to Rick who caught them.

"Whatever you're planning on doing, you're going to need help, so count me in" Glenn spoke up before Jake could turn and make his way back down the stairs and out the door they came in through no more than ten minutes prior.

"This could be a one way first class ticket to hell, sure you're down for that?" He asked the Korean male who seemed a bit put-off by his choice of words, but after glancing around at the group and the faces of those he considered family, Glenn took a deep swallow before giving a quick nod. "Alright, then you're going to need some firepower" he dug into his bag again before pulling out the MPK and its extra clip, which caught everyone by surprise, and handed it over to the younger and shorter male who took them slowly appearing to not really know what to do with it.

"All you got know is to not waste your ammo on one pull or shoot me in the back. Got it?" The Korean male nodded. "Alright, let's go" with that he zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulders before finally turning and heading down the stairs.

"What's your plan?" Glenn asked him as they made their way down the stairs and by the sound of things nobody was following after them.

"Get as far away from the group as we can in the next half hour and then make things go boom which should draw the walkers away from them and towards where the sound came from. Hopefully, we'll be out of there before hell rains down on us" Jake replied as they reached the first floor and briefly looked towards the glass doors to see them still holding up before making his way to the side door and after briefly checking to see if any stragglers were in the alley, which there weren't, they headed toward the stairs across from them.

"How do you plan to make things go boom?" His companion asked him as they made their way up the stairs.

"I got a couple blocks of C4 in my bag, now shut up and cover my ass..."

 **-x-**

"This is insane! You know that, right!?" Glenn whispered shouted as he stood at the kitchen entrance as he watched the wide open front door of the restaurant, which they found four blocks and two streets, northwest, over from the department store the others were taking refuge in, to make sure no walkers would catch them off-guard. The Korean male looked over his shoulder briefly too see Jake placing the last of the C4 next to a gas line which he then busted open with the butt of his rifle.

"Yeah, well sometimes insane plans pay off" the former SFC claimed as threw his bag over his shoulders and gestured for Glenn to head out the way they came. Fortunately, there weren't more than a few stragglers on the road seeing as all of them would've been attracted to the shots earlier and were with the others.

Judging by how they hadn't heard any shots from anywhere in the city, they were sure the others still alive and the windows were holding up.

"What now?" The Korean male asked him as he watched from behind him as J took out the stragglers that had gotten to close for his liking and then just to be safe shot the others as well, then reloaded another mag.

"We run, literally and get as far as we can before I, in simplist terms, push the red button just before we're out of range and make things go boom. Hopefully, that speed you boast about having during your pizza delivery days wasn't just your car" he intructed the male who looked scared that they wouldn't get far enough. The explosion won't be that huge, but it was going to be big and it'd be best they weren't anywhere nearby when the undead showed up.

"Run, now" he told Glenn before pulling him in the direction they were to go in and both of them started hauling ass passing walkers, abandoned yet usable vehicles, and a few lootable stores but they didn't have time for that. "Hold onto your ass!" Jake shouted to his companion after a couple minutes and Glenn looked over at him just in time to see him lift up the detonator and set off the C4.

The explosion went off without a hitch and is was both bigger and smaller than he originally thought, but it shook the ground and the sound it sent out was just as loud as he thought and if that didn't get every walker in the city heading for it then they were fucking deaf. To add to the bombs thunderous roar the restaurant and the two buildings to its sides collapsed in on themselves which made more noise. Hopefully, it gave the group an escape and got them the fuck out of there.

Making their way through the city and away from what was sure to be a walker fest while taking out the undead stragglers every once in a while they lucked out after turning a corner and seeing what appeared to be a used car dealer ship which was going to be their salvation and ticket out of hell. After pointing it out to Glenn the two made their way over and after quickly cleared the trailer that was the office and while Jake went in search of keys his companion looted the place for whatever he could find.

J found the keys in a locked drawer which he had to bust open with the butt of his rifle and searched through them in search of a car that would get them out of the city the fastest. Seeing the keys for a Mustang he quickly grabbed them and after seeing that Glenn was down gestured for him to follow. Instead, of just getting in the car and heading off they search the rest of the small lot where they found several gas and oil cannisters along with a 24-package of water.

After grabbing what they could and loading it into the backseat and trunk of the car they made sure the tank was full before getting in with Jake in the driverseat where he quickly started the car and maneuvered his way out of the small lot before pulling onto the road and flooring it down the street. Taking sidewalks and luckily a couple clear alleyways they were able to bypass the herd of walkers and passed the building where everyone was held up only to see the SUV gone which meant they got out.

"Wahoo!" Glenn shouted as they hauled ass down the road and headed back for their camp. "Dude, check out what I found back in the trailer" he stated before grabbing his back and after sifting through it pulled out a CD that said driving mix which made Jake smile, he hadn't heard music since his Ipod died and he's yet to charge it, not wanting to waste precious car battery.

"Put it in, brother" was all he had to say before his companion opened the case grab the disk and slid it into the cars CD player. The first song that began playing was Billie Jean. "Woo!" Jake howled out at the top of his lungs to the sound of the music.

About ten minutes later they came upon a familiar SUV which they caught up too and after seeing Rick and Morales in the front seat, Glenn lowered his window and waved at them before the two drove pass them and continued on the way to camp with music blasting from the speakers as the two sang along to every song that played.

 **A/N: Not my best chapter or writing, but the point is some things changed and hopefully came across alright. Well that's if you understood everything that happened. It got fast paced towards the end and I apologize. I've also considered writing a different version of this story though not by much seeing as the only things that will be changed will be one pairing removal, occupation change, one name change, and wanted to see what people would think. I would like to know what you all think about this fic, though I hope your reviews aren't too bad.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Reunions, Rescue Team, and Beating**

"You missed the turn-off!" Glenn shouted over the music just as they passed the entrance to the Quarry. What do you expect when you're hitting a 120 on the highway with no traffic or cops to slow you down or stop you? Jake quickly hits both brakes causing the tires to let out a loud screech as they scrape against the road until the car came to a stop. He then throws the car in reverse for a moment before hitting the gas then brakes again followed by throwing it back into drive and turning the wheel causing the vehicle to pull off onto the dirt road leading towards the Quarry.

"Are you sure you weren't a pizza delivery man before the world went to shit?" Asks Glenn jokingly after lowering the radio while the two make their way down the dirt road and this gets a chuckle out of Jake whose smiling and looks at him briefly with his eyes, but doesn't turn his head.

"Let's just say, I spent a fair amount of time behind the wheel of a beauty like this before I joined the Army and may or may not have spent a night or two in jail. Fortunately, my dad was a good cop, one who was usually owed a few favors from quite a few people and was able to keep Bear and I's records clean" he explained to the younger, shorter male who looked surprised by this for a moment before breaking out into a smile and even chuckling.

"Damn, Jake Gonzalez has a different side to him. I like this side. The other one is scary and while we're cool on a certain level, you still scare me and quite a few of the others" Glenn admitted looking down and shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"Before this, I acted like a different person, was in my own way a fun person. At least, that is until I had to go to work, then it was the guy you see now all the time. Though with the world ending all the old rules went out the window and a only a single new one has been implemented" Jake told the younger male as they came around the bend with the camp and Quarry coming into sight.

"What rule is that?" Glenn asked sounding both curious and slightly confused. He couldn't turn, but could feel the other male's eyes on him, inspecting.

"Survive, by any means necessary. Whether you believe so or not Glenn, there's no way to survive this without getting your hands dirty and the sooner you understand that, the better" J finished just as they reached the top of the Quarry where everyone was gathered with Shane, Rone, Jase, and Bear aiming their weapons, since the windshield was tinted and couldn't see in, waiting for them to get out.

The former SFC threw the Mustang in park before cutting the engine and was about to step out of the car when his passenger asked him another question. "Are you hands, dirty?" The shorter, younger male sounded afraid of what his answer would be and he didn't blame him.

"Put it this way, when and I say when because it will, so when shit hits the fan you should feel fortunate you're on my side" was his honest reply before he pops the door open and steps out leaving a stunned Glenn who shakes himself from his stupor and climbs out as well. The others then lower their weapons.

"We heard and even saw that explosion all the way from here, hell I wouldn't be surprised if ever damn walker within 50 miles heard that explosion!" Shane shouted and looked rather angry after seeing who he was and what he'd done so they could all escape the city in one piece. "What the hell were you thinking!?" God, the man was annoying, couldn't he just accept they were alive.

"Fuck off, Shane. I did what I had to do to get everyone out of the city, if you don't like it then you can go fuck yourself" Jake replied, which pissed the man off even more, while hugging his cousin, Rone, Bear, and lastly Amy who looked happy to see him, but also concerned since Andrea wasn't with him and he quickly placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, she got out. Her and the others are a few minutes behind us" he said and looking into her eyes causing her to relax slightly.

She gave him a half-happy, half thankful smile before leaning up and kissing his cheek in a sisterly manner before moving away and into Bears arms. He was about to speak up again when a blur passed through the others and crashed into his waist where he small arms wrapped around him. His shirt started growing damp and he knew the younger brunette was crying.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Jake said softly before pulling Sophia's arms from around him softly which she tried to fight against, to no avail, as he then kneeled in front of her and placed his hands on her cheeks. Her red puffy eyes met his as tears continued to run down her cheeks in what he hoped was joy. "I made it back, just like I promised" Jake claimed before pulling her to him and hugging her like he was sure Ed never had and even kissed the top of her head lovingly. His eyes then scanned the group to see the Peletier male in the distance standing by the entrance to his tent seething, but ignored him, and continued his scan until his gaze fell upon Carol who was silently crying behind her hand, she gave him a nod telling him it was okay.

After a couple minutes Sophia stopped crying, but hadn't made a move to pull away and he can tell she didn't have plans to do so anytime soon and he wasn't going to make her. He didn't have heart for it nor did he mind, so he just held her close.

"So, what the hell happened out there?" Jase was the one to break the silence of the moment and J looked over to his cousin only to see that his eyes were looking at Glenn, which meant the question wasn't meant for him.

"Where do I start?" Glenn asked before letting out a huff of air and sounding like he was about to explain, but the sound of tires coming up the gravel road grabbed everyone's attention just as the familiar SUV pulled up and was thrown in park before the engine was cut off.

T-Dog was the first one to climb out, well that he could see, followed by Jacqui, then Morales who around the front of the vehicle and quickly moved for his family as they all embraced him, then Andrea who almost ran to her sister who in-turn almost did the same as the two then hugged one another with tears in their eyes. 'Where the hells, Merle?' He silently asked himself as he waited for the drugged up redneck to climb out and say something stupid, but never did.

The last person to step out of the SUV was Rick who looked lost about what he should do. That is until Morales called him over and told him not to be shy.

Jake had prepared himself for this moment, the one he was sure to come after hearing Rick say his name, though left his last name out, while wearing a deputy's uniform and honestly it just couldn't be coincidence and it appeared it wasn't. The former deputy looked passed them and then started lightly hyperventilating looking on the verge of tears and that's when J knew his assumptions were proven correct.

"Dad!" He heard Carl shout before he ran past the group and into the arms of his father who had just kneeled prior to falling into the ground while holding his son with relief and pure happiness. The man then got up with his son in his arms before making his way over to Lori who looked more shocked then happy than he thought she would be as the trio embraced each other, that is until her eyes shifted to Shane with what looked like a guilt plus question fueled gaze and he knew what was wrong.

It would seem the acts of sexual release she did with the man, which was sorta more on his part, had overridden her joy at the reunion with her husband and was filling her body with guilt plus the addition of a silent question in her eyes. 'I thought you said he was dead?' Maybe not that nicely put, but nonetheless it was the question that had been asked and it seemed to have some anger behind it.

The question as to why she didn't look at him with that guilt fueled look of hers made him curious, he supposed it could be because she either no longer felt guilt about what she did with him because unlike with Shane they didn't get emotionally attached with anything other than maybe besides friendship nor did either of them think it was anything more than it was as well as it possibly felt less guilty when doing it with someone who knew just how you felt and didn't ask nor expected it of you because of it. With Shane, she once told Jake she did it with him because she felt she was paying the debt for him saving their lives. It could also be because she didn't want to let anyone onto their escapades, but unless he asked he wouldn't be too sure though he was leaning more towards the first one.

"Alright, while this is all just touching, I still want to know what the hell went wrong" and the touching reunion moment was ruined by officer dickhead who sounded a little upset and it was no doubt about his sex with Lori being no more, crashing and burning. That's what the fucktard got for getting attached like an idiot.

"First, I could use some food and secondly, either of you want to tell me where the hell is Merle?" The former SFC said as he looked over Sophia's head at those who arrived in the SUV and leveled them with a glare that said he wanted answers.

"Let's-let's get that food first..." T-Dog was the one to answer looking a bit guilty and at a lost and that's when Jake knew, something had gone wrong.

-x-

It was an hour later after everyone who'd gone into town had changed out of their dirty clothes, wiped themselves down with a wet cloth, and had gotten a warm meal in their belly. During that time the sun had already started to set and the air started to cool so everyone gathered around a few bonfires which were kept low so that walkers didn't spot them from a distance, but still gave off enough warmth which grew when everyone shared their body heat with those next to them or in their arms.

"So, you all left his ass handcuffed on the roof?" Jake asked in a low, because Sophia was asleep with her head on his lap and her legs on Carol's who sat next to him, slightly angry and disappointed tone as he looked between the five people, he and Glenn left on the roof, with a glare. Each of them looked down like scolded children. Sure, the man was an asshole but he didn't deserve to be left on the roof like a chained animal waiting for the slaughter. That's how Daryl was going to see it.

"I had the key and went back for him, but slipped and dropped the key which bounced into a pipe where it had no way of being recovered. It was my fault and I chained the door, so it should hold" T-Dog claimed taking the whole blame for Merle being left behind. J just sighed and shook his head.

"Those chains were old and if enough walkers put their weight on the door they'll snap. There's nothing we can do about it right now nor is Daryl going to be happy when he returns and finds out his brother had been left behind. After he gets back I'll try and talk him out of trying to kill you guys then take him with me to get his brother back. Hopefully, Yondu survives the night" he explains to the group as he leans back against the log behind him and even though it's uncomfortable, he's slept on worse and it was only until they all left to settle in for the night.

"You're going back out again?" Bear was the one to question his decision looking upset that he wasn't counseled about this beforehand like he usually was. While they didn't need each other's permission they felt it was necessary to talk this things over, if not with all four of them then just the two of them.

"Yeah, not like anyone else is going to volunteer" the former SFC answered his oldest friend who didn't like the answer and by giving the group a once over he was right. Nobody wanted to risk their lives for Merle, for Daryl maybe cause he was sorta nicer, but not the eldest Dixon.

After a few minutes of quietness Shane began having a debate with Ed who had put another log on his bonfire which made the flames grow larger and could be seen from a distance which was dangerous because light meant food and usually attracted walkers. He tuned the two men out, but looked over to Carol who seemed to have been listening and rolled her eyes at her former husband and then without thinking lay her head down on his shoulder seeming more tired than she looked.

"Look, it's been a long day and I say we call it a night" Rick suggested and everyone mumbled agreements before getting up and heading to their tents.

Sophia didn't want to wake up, so Jake picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the tent she shared with her mother while said woman leaned against him with an arm looped around one of his in an attempt to keep herself upright and to assist her in walking over to tent she shared with her daughter. Even after laying her down Soph didn't want to let him go, but after some coaxing she eventually did which afterwards he then helped Carol who thanked him and gave a smile before falling asleep.

Walking out of the two Peletier womens' tent he looked over to the RV to see who was on watch for the night and saw that it was Jase's turn which eased him a bit. Due to him being rather young the teen, like most other teens before the Outbreak, had been a night owl and in a way still was. Plus, he knew how to keep himself concentrated and to keep an eye out for the tent next to theirs. He waved to the teen who waved back before he entered their tent and barely got to his cot before crashing out.

-x-

Ever since she woke up this morning and exited her tent and saw him, Sophia has stuck by his side the entire time and was there when he conversed with Bear who was trying convince him out of going back into the city for Merle with him going in his stead for two reasons, but before he could say them the young brunette interrupted and made him promise he wouldn't leave and after giving him a puppy dog look he caved which made her and his best friend smile. Carl then ran over and asked her to play tag which after some coaxing from both himself and the young boy she agreed, though only after he promised not to leave, and ran off to play.

He then turned back to his brother in all but blood and asked him if Amy was okay with this and he said it took some convincing, but she accepted. The former SFC then asked to hear Aaron's two reasons which he replied with one being he hasn't left the camp in weeks since he killed that deer a few weeks ago and two was that if Merle had escaped the cuffs then he would be of better use since he was the better tracker of the two and with Daryl's assistance they'd find the elder Dixon in a shorter amount of time.

The sound of two kids screaming and then calling for their parents and surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, himself and without a thought he ran over towards where the cries came from with Bear and most of the camp on his tail. He entered a small clearing to find Carl and Sophia staring in fear at a walker tearing apart and eating a dead, with three bolts in its body, deers neck. Seeing him the young Peletier quickly ran over to him seeking safety, he quickly kneeled and wrapped her in his arms.

It was after this that several people ran passed him, neither of his brothers being one of them. The undead male got to his feet before the group of men began beating the walker with bats, pipes, an axe, as well as the butt of both a rifle and shotgun. At the men's rage and the sight of them beating the flesh eater instead of killing it and looking like barbarians while doing so, J made sure to keep Soph from turning her head and watching. Same could not be said for Carl who watched for a moment or two before being led away by his mother.

He wanted to yell at the men for their actions, but not scare the child in his arms Jake held in his anger and instead got to his feet and began walking away though not before sending Bear a knowing look who gave him a nod. He only made it a few steps before Carol appeared and seeing the way her daughter had her arms wrapped around his neck with no intention of letting go didn't make a move to try and take her from him.

"She's fine, just a little spooked" he told the elder of the two Peletier women who nodded, but still looked her daughter over for any bites or scratches which she let out a breath in relief when finding none. He then heard the sound of a suppressed shot being fired and knew Bear did what he'd asked of him and waited for the other male to appear at his side before heading back towards the camp.

By the time they reached the camp a couple minutes later Sophia had fallen asleep, the traumatizing moment taking more out of her than he'd thought and knew after some rest she'd be fine and dandy. Walking into his tent instead of the one the two women shared he entered with Carol, who had a confused look on her face, following behind him.

Jase who'd been asleep turned to see who entered and once he did he asked what the scream was which J answered informing him of what happened before telling him that he was going to let Sophia use his cot to rest and wanted his cousin to keep an eye on her. Even though the teen had a tendency to sleep like a log, he also had a tendency to be a light sleeper when he was asked to do something provided he would still be able to sleep which turned him into a light sleeper and every time someone entered their tent he'd wake up immediately. He was like a motion sensor, which sounded much better and less insulting than calling the boy a guard dog.

After putting the young brunette down and tucking her under his sheet blanket which she immediately pulled to her nose and took a deep inhale of the fabric before pulling it closer to her and snuggling it with a smile on her face. It was one that showed she felt safe and the sight warmed his heart and by the way Carol looked it was the same for her.

"I got eyes on her, you two go on and head out" Jase said before turning in his cot and facing the sleeping girl on the other side of the tent before falling back asleep.

The two adults then exited the tent and before Jake could say anything Carol grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward and into the tent she shared with her daughter which nobody appeared to notice not even when she let the tied flaps loose allowing them to fall and cut the sigh of them off from the outside world, mostly. He was about to ask her what she was doing, but the older Peletier woman cut him off by grabbing his face softly yet firmly with both hands, stood on her tiptoes, and dragged his face down to hers causing their lips to crash against one another's.

The action caught Jake by surprise, if only for a moment, before he placed one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her waist and began reciprocating the action with just as much vigor as the woman in his grasp before she moved one hand into his hair and the other around his neck to hold him in place. If it was suppose to be a closed mouth kiss from beginning to end he didn't get the memo because her body language said elsewise and after licking her bottom lip causing her to slightly gasp he slid his tongue into her mouth and it was only a second before hers starting fighting back against his, but not in an effort to force him out. She let out a low moan.

When the need for air became absolutely necessary both parties pulled away, but not far as they rested their foreheads against one another's while panting for breath with their eyes closed. Neither made a move to pull away or even reposition their limbs from their current spots, that is until what he believed was with a burst of confidence that she removed the hand from his hair much to his dismay before reaching down to the hand on her waist and moving it over towards her ass where she had him squeeze before moving her own back to his hair and looking up to him with a suggestive look and after giving the woman's butt cheek another squeeze her gaze turned lustful.

The grey haired woman then eased herself fully back onto her feet and thinking the moment was over with Jake moved to release her from his grasp, but she quickly reached over stopping him from moving the hand on her ass with one hand while moving the other to catch his now free hand and place it on her other cheek which was followed by a sexy smirk. Carol then began pushing him backwards towards her cot, which he knew was hers because he's helped her settle into it more than once since they met.

When the back of his calves hit the edge of the cot he slid his way down her body, without moving his hands, while lowering himself onto the woman's 'bed'. Once he was fully seated she climbed into his lap before smashing her mouth against his once again. He'd never seen this side of Carol before and it felt so different than the one he knew and out of place, but he couldn't keep himself from liking it and wanting more. If he did pull away it would probably hurt her more than him and he didn't want to hurt her, never, she'd been hurt enough.

Plus, he supposes this was coming with how close they'd been becoming and with how he'd been looking after and treating Sophia these past couple days, as if he were her father and in a way he guesses he kinda is because she never had one to begin with. He was also sure, this Carol was the one who hadn't been let out in years and had so much pent up sexual need which for the first time she wanted to fulfill instead of being ordered to do so against her wishes and never to her satisfaction. He knew she hadn't meant to tell him, but while telling her about the things Ed did to her she admitted to having a vibrator which she loved and missed,

1 though it never gave her that satisfied feeling.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt her grind against him and that was when he realized that he was sporting an erection and by the low moan that made it past her lips she felt it. In that moment, J didn't care that the tent walls were then, the flaps were technically still open, or that the whole camp would hear them but he wanted to take then and there and give her the sexual satisfaction she deserved and from her actions craved.

In a moment of his own confidence the former SFC moved one of his hands up her body and over to her breasts where he cupped one from outside her shirt, but could feel it and her bra in his palm which caused another moan to escape her lips which let him know she didn't mind especially after she grind down him again. The silver haired woman reached down to his waist and began undoing his belt, but the sound of people shouting and what sounding like fighting coming from outside destroyed the moment and the two quickly pulled away before fixing themselves which was her shirt and him doing his belt.

The two then slipped out from her tent and due to the commotion nobody noticed their exit or slightly still disheveled state, well all except for Lori who they didn't see glance over at the sight of them emerging from the tent before turning back to her husband and Shane trying to calm down an upset Darly, well more like double teaming him. She then glanced back at them to see the exact moment her former 'lover', the one good at sex, which she supposes is what he was, registered what was going on before moving to interfere.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Jake shouted before quickly covering the ground between himself and where Shane had Daryl in a chokehold and with some effort before pushing the former deputy to the ground with one hand and pulling the younger Dixon to his feet with the other prior to pushing him with a bit of force and placing himself between the two. "I ask again. What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On!?" He asked lowly in a seething voice that sent some chills down a few spines and the angry glare that was on his face sent another and they had to keep from physically shivering.

"You bastards left my brother handcuffed on a damn roof like a damn animal waiting for the slaughter! Fuckers practically used him for bait!" The younger Dixon shouted angrily, but also in fear at the thought that his brother was out there and left to get eaten by walkers. He understood where the man was coming from, he'd feel the same way if that happened to any of his brothers and would tear Atlanta down with his bare hands until he got them back.

"Listen, first off, I didn't leave nobody! My ass was out trying to save everyone! Now, secondly, Bear has agreed to help you find your brother in my stead because he's a better tracker and because of that you two will move faster through the city. Now, I'd lead you to where we were, but I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't leave the camp today and I intend to keep it. So, you're going to have find a different person to take you there" Jake told Daryl who stared at him while processing the information before turning to Bear who gave him a nod letting him know that what was said was true.

"Rick will show you, isn't that right" Lori spoke with her words sounding more like a statement, but her tone showed that she hoped she was wrong, but when Rick didn't move to deny her claim the Grimes looked unhappy. "Well, if you're going take Shane with you, I'd feel better knowing you two have each others backs especially when you find Merle who I imagine won't be anywhere near happy to see you and I fear you won't make it back" this shocked everyone though more specifically it shocked both her husband and Shane, but the latter more than the former who looked about to protest.

"She's right, I'm going to need you out there with me and having my back just like old times" Rick speaking to Shane caught the other former deputy off guard and cut off any argument he was about to provide and after an annoyed huff and quick glance at a glaring Lori he gave a nod agreeing that he'll tag along. "Thanks" the older of the two men says before turning and heading for his tent.

-x-

Half an hour later a group consisting of Bear, Daryl, Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and a reluctant Glenn headed off towards the city even after the shaggy haired man argued that they were taking too many men and a lot of the groups manpower which was easily counteracted by Jake when who said himself, Jase, Rone, Andrea, Morales, Dale, and Jim was more than enough manpower to protect the group much to dickheads chagrin.

Knowing there might be more walkers present in the area they were heading to than there was the day before due to the explosion, so Jake and the other three men agreed that the group shouldn't head into the city unarmed with only Bears SR-25 along with the explosives he was taking, Shanes shotgun and Beretta, Rick's barely loaded python, and Daryl's crossbow to protect them all especially if they get separated so they armed them.

Rick was given a suppressed M4 with an red dot sight and extra mag, Glenn was handed the same MPK he was given the other day though was now suppressed, and T-Dog was given a suppressed AK-47 with an extra clip all of which were from the trailer. When asked where they'd gotten the weapons and how much more did they have including ammunition the four just shrugged while not saying a thing.

'Into Atlanta march six men' Jake thought to himself as he watched the group pile into fully fueled vehicle before it was started and headed on its way towards the city in hopes to bring back Merle, that's if he were still there or even alive. 'Watch your ass out there brother because Daryl's on the warpath, Shanes dislike you by affiliation with his good buddy at his side, and neither Glenn or T-Dog will be able to do anything to stop either' he mentally told his friend who wouldn't hear him, but he was sure the other male already knew the situation.

After the group left the former SFC headed back towards the trailer where he got a suppressed bolt-action M24 SWS with a 7x scope that he handed to Dale, a suppressed MP7 which he gave to Andrea, a suppressed Glock for Amy, two snub nose revolvers with one being for Lori and the other Carol, and a suppressed MP5 which he handed to Morales and all guns were given extra ammo. He hadn't given any other out because he didn't trust Jim nor Ed, who he'd rather have dead, and everyone else didn't know how to shoot a weapon, so he didn't give them any.

It was an hour after the group to bring back Merle left and everyone was doing their own thing and sadly, he and Carol didn't get to finish what they started seeing as Sophia woke up and began following him around again that is until he excused himself to go to the bathroom which the younger Peletier huffed in annoyance at before heading over to her mother who was making some lunch for everyone and began talking to her. Nobody noticed the person who followed after him, well except for himself.

He walked further away from the camp than usual before walking up to a random tree and began watering it. The person who'd been following him grew closer while trying to sneak up on him, but he already knew they were there cause you can't outfox a trained ear and because they stepped on a branch which broke and gave them away.

"You know, with your husband back you shouldn't be looking to help me shake or offering anymore helping hands for that matter" he tells his pursuer who stays silent, but he can hear their breathing, her breathing which was more than likely due to the exertion of keeping up with him and walking through a slightly harder terrain than she was use to.

"Who said I came to offer to help you shake it or any other helping hands?" Lori asked and he didn't have to turn in order to see that question look she had on her face which was a raised eyebrow or that she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her hip slightly. "What makes you think I, too, didn't come out here to use the restroom?" She questioned matter of factly and as to further prove her point her heard the brunette unzip her pants followed by ruffling of clothes and the moving of dirt, leaves, and sticks under weighted pressure which let him know she was squatting but hear no other sounds.

"Well you did follow me all the way out here through tough terrain instead of staying closer to the camp as usual and where people would be able to hear you immediately if you got into some trouble, plus I don't hear the sound of liquid splashing on the ground" he claims after shaking 'himself' and making sure there's no drippage before turning around to face her without moving to put himself away, those does button his pants to keep them from falling, and by the way she was staring at his lower region while he took a couple steps towards her and only stopping until his dick was a foot away from her face which she didn't shy away from he knew why she was here, well as if he didn't already know though she was going stubborn about it.

It wasn't like she was trying to cover her modesty which was fully visible to him and he could tell she was already wet but not from relieving herself for the ground, except for a few drops, was still dry.

"Is that some sort of threat?" She asked while looking up into his eyes with a teasing gaze and by the slight upturn of her lips into a smirk.

"No, just thought informing a friend about how dangerous it could be walking out this far. So, I suppose since you aren't hear to give me a helping hand I'll just be going on my way" he replies just as teasing while giving her his own smirk and he would've held off from partaking in this charade, but his little escapade with Carol earlier left him in need of a release.

"No!" She almost shouted before reaching out and grasping his penis before beginning to stroke it and it only took a few pumps before he was fully erect and she licked her lips at the sight of him. He would indulge her, this one last time.

Jake Gonzalez didn't mess with married women, Carol's situation didn't count. She was basically divorced.

-x-

"You know, the last time you did it that hard I couldn't sit down properly for a few days and Shane hovered over me like a mother bear" Lori complained about her companions roughness while pounding her ass and pussy, which both still hurt though the former more than the latter, while her pants and underwear on her thighs as she was squatting down and actually urinating this time. She watched as the former SFC was facing away from her while zipping up his pants after urinating, again.

"Yeah, well if you didn't want it that rough you shouldn't have asked for it that way" Jake shrugs nonchalantly as he turns around to face the female Grimes, neither caring that she was still peeing which people would find disgusting or weird, plus she did give him a hand the other day and there was such a thing as not looking down too far.

It could also have to do with J having seen some really disgusting shit in his day and this was nowhere on the list and it's possible that in a weird way that's how comfortable the two have gotten around one another. Plus, he's been to a lot of parties in his lifetime where the bathrooms have long lines and people have needed to find alternate places to relieve themselves. Some of those people had some nice gardens come spring.

Once the brunette was done she pulled a cloth from her back pocket and wiped herself before disposing of it then climbed to her full height all the while lifting up her bottoms which she zipped and buttoned with great practice. When she looked back up towards Jake he was giving her a calculating gaze and just as she was about to ask what he was doing when the 23 year old drew his pistol which caused her to grow concerned for a moment before relaxing when he turned it and handed to her.

"If anyone asks and they will, I'll just say I saw you about to practice and decided to teach you myself and because I didn't want you firing unsuppressed shots" he claims coming up with a backstory as to why neither of them have been seen for the last hour or so seeing as once they returned to camp they were likely to be bombarded with questions. They'd never needed an excuse before because they always arrived back at different times, but it was a good thing he was going to walk her back seeing as while following after him she hadn't paid attention to her path and with changing 'positions' had lost which direction camp was in.

"Got it" the Grimes woman replied before grabbing the gun and holding it in one hand. Afterwards she gives him a nod which he replies to with one of his own before turning in the direction of their camp and began leading the way with her falling into step beside him. It was good thing she had her sweater wrapped around her waist because she could feel his seed leaking from her anus and would without a doubt created a wet spot. She was going to change once she got back to camp.

It took a couple minutes longer to get back to camp since they switched course briefly so that it would appear she had gotten the same way he did which would help to their backstory because if they came back from the same direction someone may think she followed after him. When they emerged from the tree line with Jake talking as if he were still 'teaching' her only for them to grow quiet when they sensed the tense atmosphere of the group who kept throwing split second glances not at them, but the former SFC.

"Jake!" Sophia's voice broke through the awkward silence that had seem to have fallen over the camp as the young girl ran over towards them with a worried look on her face and Carl on her heel.

"Soph, what's wrong? Where's your momma?" He quickly questioned while dropping to his knee just as the children reached them and the younger Peletier crashed into him, but his green with grey eyes were searching the camp for the woman he asked about only to see that Carol, Andrea, Amy, Jacqui, and Jase were nowhere in sight. His eyes widened when his gaze landed on Ed's tent only to see it empty.

"She's down by the water washing clothes with Amy, Andrea, and Jacqui, but Ed is down there with them. Jase went down a little while ago to make sure that Ed didn't do anything to hurt momma or anyone else" Sophia explained with her tone sounding like a scared child who was on the verge of tears. He didn't miss how she called Ed by his name and not dad or anything of the sort, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

"Okay, listen. You're going to stay here with Lori while I go check on your momma and can an eye on Ed, alright?" He asked the Peletier child who usually argued about having to let go once she latched on, but hearing that he was going to go protect her mother she let go and walked over to Lori who he glanced at with a questioning look which she answered with a nod before handing him his gun then leading the two kids away.

Holstering his pistol the former SFC quickly make his way over towards the edge of the Quarry, ignoring the looks he was getting, where he could see his cousin sitting on a large rock and can with the way his head was faced towards Ed he was keeping an eye on the older man who was watching the women work while smoking. Not wanting to task the risk standing up there should anything go wrong he began making his way down the dirt road and down towards the bottom.

He was about halfway down when a commotion broke out and he turned his head just in time to see his cousin try and pull the Peletier man away only for Ed to turn swinging and landing a blindside hit to his cousin's face sending him to the ground. When the Peletier male turned back to the group of women he was met by a right hook to the face which shocked everyone around them, but him. Though, the shock didn't last long for the large man swung with ferocity sending his 'wife', because he hadn't accepted their new status, to the ground as well causing the all the women to quickly create a wall between the two.

At this point he was sprinting as fast as he could to get to the scene of the crime.

Jase had gotten back to his feet and attacked the motherfucker and the two traded a few blows before the older man used his size as an advantage and tackled the teen to the ground and began pounding on him though his cousin managed to block most of the hits. The girls were trying to pull the large man off, but to no avail and then out of nowhere Carol jumped on her former husbands back and began swinging at his face from behind.

When the elder of the two Gonzalez's was less than ten feet from the bottom he'd foregone going the rest of the way and took the seven foot drop to the ground before once again setting off in a sprint. He closes the distance between himself and the others in a short amount of time and shouts for Carol to get out of the way and she barely hears him before doing as she's told seconds prior to Jake spearing the large man off his cousin.

Ed hits the ground a couple feet away and groans in pain on the ground from the impact of the tackle and because of his weight lands a bit harder than he'd like on the ground while the elder Gonzalez landed a couple feet away from him and ignores the pain of the rocks jabbing into his skin before rolling three times across the ground then pushes himself onto his feet and quickly placed himself between the Peletier male and everyone else. Ed seeing this and not wanting to be a sitting duck pushes himself to his feet as well, but not as quickly or as steadily.

"Seems I'm going to have to remind you what happened the last time you laid your hands on Carol and it's going to be worse this time around seeing as you struck my cousin, my blood, so you basically assaulted me as well" Jake says in a serious tone while giving the older man a murderous glare before getting into a defensive stance.

"Last time you got lucky, this time I'm going to kick your ass and once I'm done going to take that bitch back and that daughter of hers before we leave this shit place" Ed claimed with as much venom as he could muster accompanied by a glare while also hissing from the pain coming from both his sides and face.

"I'd like to see you try" Jake hisses out and that's when the burly man takes his lunge at the younger of the two of them and due to the anger clouding his mind and inexperience compared to the years of training going against him doesn't see that he leaves himself wide open.

The wife beater swings once, J leans back dodging, he swings again though instead of pulling himself out of range the former Army Ranger ducks under the appendage and quickly moves himself around to the man's back before wrapping his arms around Ed's waist before mustering a good portion of his strength. What proceeds after is what in the fight world is called a suplex which results with the shithead being slammed front first into the rock covered ground causing him tremendous pain.

Though, not willing to let his opponent recover whatsoever, Jake quickly flips him over and climbs atop the other man's chest while placing his knees on both of the downed males biceps then begins to deliver the most brutal beating that those present had only ever seen in movies. It was scary seeing the elder Gonzalez male showing no remorse as he destroyed the Peletier males face. While sure, he had it coming this was a bit too far.

Then again his threats weren't exactly innocent and he'd laid a hand on both Carol and Jase and the former Ranger wasn't one to take threats to those he cares about lightly.

"J, J, that's enough!" Jake faintly heard before two arms wrap around his torso from behind and he's pulled backwards away from Ed who raises his beaten face slightly only to receive a size twelve boot heel to the face rendering him unconscious. "That's enough cousin" the voice of Jase reaches his ears and by the closeness of it, he's the one who pulled him off the son of a bitch.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's over. It's over" a voice softly says before hands are placed on his cheeks then turn his head towards them only to see that it was Carol, who had a split lip and red cheek both of which were getting puffy. His green with grey eyes met her green ones and he slowly began to calm down even moreso when she pulled his face into her chest and wrapped her arms around his head, holding him softly.

Neither of them cared that half the camp had made their way down the dirt path and catching the half of the fight where Jake, which can only be explain as obliterated, Ed then stopped a few feet away and stared at them with confusion, intrigue, but also fear at what was just displayed by the man they already half feared. They felt J had slightly gone overboard in his 'defense' and they were sure there was going to be a debate later when the group that went into the city returned about what was going to be done about the situation.

The next few hours were going to be quite the tense wait.

"It's over..." Carol continued to mutter to the man in her arms while running one of her hands through his hair soothingly.

 **A** / **N:** Drop comment, hopefully it's not too bad of one. I know I'm crap at writing fight scenes, I'm working at it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Confinement and City Troubles**

It'd been twenty minutes since what happened in the Quarry and it was the decision of majority of the camp that he be confined to his tent without any weapons until the group that went into the city returned and they would be able to have a vote about what was to be done with him and Ed. Him, because he destroyed the other man's face and apparently went 'too far' causing everyone to see him as a danger to the group, a threat and therefore 'something' had to be done. The reason behind the Peletier male 'awaiting trial' was because he had struck a woman and though it was the end of the world such an act was still not tolerated and the man had attacked another member of the group as well. While he'd been the one to take the beating he'd still pay for his actions.

Upon returning to camp he told Jase to head over to Amy and allow her to help him get cleaned up then he was to go wake up Rone and tell him the situation as well as to keep hs walkie on in case the 'rescue team' decided to make contact. Carol wanted to stick by his side, but he was able to convince to go get herself cleaned up and reminded her that she needed to take care of Sophia along with keep on eye on her since she'd more than likely try to get to him.

He grabbed his canteen and opened it before reaching into the duffle bag carrying his clothes and pulled out a cloth before dousing the fabric in water. Once that was done he set closed the canteen and set it down then wrung the cloth followed by dapping it against his dry blood covered knuckles which were surely going to bruise. Afterwards he'd checked himself over seeing as he will be getting bruises along his back because of the rock and with his adrenaline fading they were starting to sting a bit.

It took longer than he'd like, but after a good ten minute his knuckles were blood free although the bruising was already becoming visible. Once he was done he tossed the rag on the ground before removing his shirt and due to the stinging sensation of where his side met the rock and the places where they really dug in while he was rolling, it hurt to stretch though he pushed on and after his shirt was discarded he lay down on his cot and decided to take a nap and let his body recover.

'Wonder how it's going on Bears end' he thought to himself before getting as comfortable as he could and then slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Alright, this way" Glenn said lowly as he turned down another, fortunately, empty alleyway as he led the group to the building where Merle had been left. T-Dog was right behind him, then it was Rick, followed by Shane, Daryl, and lastly himself seeing as he was the one with military training and a rifle which they thought couldn't be great for taking out threats within feet of him and obviously they'd never seen him never actually use his rifle, but let's just say he was no sitting target. Plus, there was the Colt 1911 on his thigh which he'd be able to draw at the drop of a pin.

They'd abandoned the SUV about twenty minutes ago on the side of some railway tracks and began hoofing it the rest of the since it would attract less walker attention and they didn't want it being surrounded by the undead leaving them without an escape vehicle. The train had, in a way, been closer to camp than the actually building so the group had been able to cut some time off their travel plans though then again who knew how long this could take.

Sure, they had a plan which was to go in and get Merle then the guns Rick dropped further down the street followed by them getting the fuck back out the city. Though, he knew he best between the six of them that plans didn't always go as planned and most times had a tendency to go sideways. Sometimes severely and usually when that happens someone ends up dead, he knew that all to well as well.

Hence, the motto he and Jake had decided to go by during their time both with the army and their job afterwards which was. Make a plan, initiate the plan, except the plan to go wrong, then throw away the plan. While, yes in the Army they had orders and they were not to disobey, but sometimes you had to improvise when in a sticky situation. It was especially said for their second occupation were more often than they liked would have to make shit up as they go.

"How long until we reach the damn place?" Shane questioned from the center of the group and sounding a mixture of annoyance along with slight anger that they weren't there already. He hadn't wanted to be here in the first place which he was still upset about.

"With our current pace and depending on walker traffic, another twenty minutes at most" Glenn replied from the front as he hugged the closest wall and checked the street for any of the undead. The shaggy haired former deputy grunted unhappily at the answer as he stopped behind Rick against the wall.

The fact that they'd only encountered a total of five walkers since they began hoofing it had him concerned and he didn't like it one bit. His grip on the handle of his rifle tightened and his already caution filled body only grew moreso, if that were any at all possible. Hopefully, they didn't encounter the same shit storm the group did the day before because he doubted they all make it out.

"Clear, let's move!" the Korean male whispered shouted before pushing off the wall and heading around the corner and down the abandoned street. Everyone quickly followed moving as quickly and as quietly as they could.

They were six men, each with their own thoughts of how to escape the city should things go to shit, though two of them were old friends but with what Jake has been telling him about what Lori told him, Rick may not be so safe with Shane at his back. Would you protect the man whose wife you've been fucking and growing emotions for more than likely cut you off when her husband returned, alive and well, and now he was the one standing between you two and what you once had?

In reality nobody in their group truly trusted the other, which they shouldn't but in trying times you need to band together, and if it came down to it they would more than likely end up being every man for himself. If you asked him who he personally thought would survive that 'break-up' then he'd say himself due to his training and 'gear', Glenn because he was quick and knew the city best, and Daryl because he was a hunter and wouldn't hesitate what needed to be done. T-Dog didn't appear like much of a threat, Rick and Shane would more than likely be fighting amongst each other until one or the other was dead, forgetting all about the rest of them.

Bear was pulled from his thoughts when he spotted a group of about five walkers in his peripheral vision about thirty yards away and quickly aimed his rifle at them. "Walkers" he quickly and in a low tone informed the others of their 'unwanted' company and each of them turned to see the threat just as the flesh eaters noticed their presence and began heading for them, expecting an easy meal which they wouldn't be getting.

"Can you take them out before they get to us?" Rick asked only for him to throw the older male a look which asked if he was being serious. "What?" He asked when he noticed the gaze he was getting.

Deciding not to give a verbal answer, he only shook his head before turning back to the walkers who were closer than they were a few seconds ago and without any hesitation he lowered his rifle then pulled his Colt from its holster and fired five consistent suppressed shots with one going into each of the walkers heads before reholstering it and lifting up his baby once again. Sure, it may have been a waste of ammunition seeing as they could've easily used their blades, but that would take too much time and they were on a time frame.

They wanted out of the city before dark, but then again wanting and actually doing are two different things.

"Damn, nice shots" the Grimes male praised as he stared at the fully dead corpses for a second before turning and give him a nod.

"Thanks" the former SSG returned the nod then turned his head and gestured for Glenn to finish leading the way which the slightly younger male nodded at before turning and going back to doing his job. Everyone quickly fell back into line behind him and they went back to their mission.

Another twenty minutes and about fifteen more walkers later the group had finally reached the building the group had left Merle atop of. The former Army Ranger lowered his rifle and drew his suppressed Colt since if any walkers were instead it'd be close quarters combat and the smaller weapon allowed for better and quicker movements.

Once inside they saw only one straggler which Daryl wasted no time in killing before they all made their way to the roof only to find the eldest Dixon was gone, but his hand which he appeared to have sawed off was left behind and surrounded by dried blood. The younger of the two brothers let out an anguished cry at the sight of his brothers severed hand and then lifted his bow and aimed it at T-Dog which in-turn caused Rick and Shane to aim their weapons at him.

Bear ignored them, couldn't they understand the man had just seen his brothers severed hand lying on the ground, as they began to argue about Merler who looks to have gotten himself off the roof. Whether he died somewhere within the building had yet to be seen or had somehow gotten himself out was yet to be seen. So, not wanting to waste time arguing he decided to follow the blood trail and with his gun raised he re-entered the building and began his search.

Making his way down the stairs he came across an undead straggler that wasn't the older Dixon and quickly took it out before continuing on his way only to find two more dead walkers and it appeared Merle had killed them. S.o.b was tougher than everyone thought.

Going back to following the blood trail and what appeared to be the smell of burnt flesh the former Ranger entered what looked to be a kitchen, which after scanning the room for threats his eyes landed on the stove top which was on, but what really caught his eyes was the steel iron resting next to the flame. Making his way over he shut off the stove before using the rag around the iron's handle to lift it up and see the cooked flesh attached to it just as the other came into the room.

"What the hell is that?" Glenn asked looking curious yet disgusted at the pieces that were hanging off the sides along with the dried blood.

"This is an steel iron which Merle heated up and then used to cauterize his wound in order to stop the bleeding. It works, but you can only go so long before without medically treating it then infection starts to set in" Bear explained as he put the iron back on the stovetop and then heading over to the destroyed window he'd also noticed, but decided not to pay it too much attention for the moment seeing as it didn't register as an immediate threat.

"Looks like he broke out this bitch" Daryl said in his usual southern drawl as he looked out the window and searched the alleyway seeing if he might catch sight of his brother, but by the look on his face when he pulled his head back in, no luck.

"Why would he leave?" Glenn asked sounding naturally curious as to why the elder Dixon would leave the safety of the building in order to do whatever it is he left to do. Maybe he went back to camp, but they wouldn't be sure until either they returned or one of them broke radio silence.

Plus, if he was going back he might not be too happy about being left behind. So, Bears concern was that they came for nothing and if Merle had gone back to camp he and the group might return only to see the older Dixons dead body on the ground with bullet holes in it.

"Because y'all left his ass behind that's why. He prolly already heading back ta camp as we speak" the younger brother claimed with his voice once again filling with anger and causing him to start speaking louder than the members of the group comfortable with. He looked around at everyone only to see Rick roll his eyes and the two started having another argument.

His eyes landed on Shane that looked ever more annoyed that they were here especially, since the reason they came in the first place was nowhere to be found and they were just wasting time. He also seemed to be getting more upset the more Rick and Daryl keep wasting time arguing about someone who he thought was a worthless piece of shit, but in all honesty Merle was worth more to the group than they realized while Shane wasn't really that important.

Between the two the elder Dixon knew how to hunt, skin a deer, fix a vehicle, make a snare, could actually tell you what was and wasn't edible, and had military experience even though he was discharged from duty he still had the training. While Shane was a former deputy who didn't grow up hunting and it wasn't like he could with his fucking shotgun, he didn't really know what was edible and usually made shit up, and he had police officer training and while that wasn't useless he was still a lesser important variable for survival compared to the other man.

"Listen, I think we should get the bag of guns before we do anything. While, yes we all have weapons, but it never hurts to have extra, plus ammunition" Rick told the group who he looked over only to for them to be looking back at him to explain further as he then turned to Glenn. "Do you think you can get me too them?" He asked the korean male who looked unsure before taking a deep breath.

"I'll get them, I'm quicker than you and you're a better shot than I am. Though, we're going to do this my way" the former pizza delivery boy stated as he then kneeled down on the floor and began coming up with and explaining a plan.

The sound of his tent zipper being unzipped woke him from slumber and he looked towards the tents entrance with half-lidded eyes with one hand under his pillow where it grasped the handle of his hidden Taurus Tracker in case whoever was entering was a someone dangerous. When the flaps were pushed aside and his 'guest', who was dangerous but not to him and wearing a different set of clothes than earlier, entered carrying what looked like a bowl of water and pain cream before turning and zipping the flaps closed.

"How long has it been since we got back to camp?" He asked in a groggy voice which appeared to startle his guest before her shoulders relaxed and she turned to face him with her green eyes locking in on his dark green with a grey haze.

"No more than an hour" Carol replies and he can see her cheek and split lip had been cleaned, but were now both puffy. It upset him that he hadn't been there to stop her from getting hit and to look upon her hurt face, but then again she could've suffered worse had it not been for Jase or him. Ed didn't get what he deserved, least not fully.

The Peletier matriarch then walks over to him and covers the distance from the flaps to his double size cot in a few strides. He slides over to give her room to sit down if she so chose to do so. The sheet covering his body sleeps away and he can see her sightly gawk at him before averting her gaze and kneels to put the bowl on the ground as she flushes slightly.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, when he trained her most of the time he was without a shirt. Though, he supposes after their moment that morning things had changed between them and like he admitted to himself earlier, he wanted to see where it led.

"What's the cream for?" He asked gesturing with his head to the bottle resting beside the bowl of water which appeared to have a rag inside. "I already cleaned my knuckles" J informs her and as if to cement this he shows her his now bruised knuckles with one of them appearing to have cut itself open on Ed's face, he eyes widen at the sight of the bruising.

"It's numbs the bruised area while also making it smell good" she tells him while softly grabbing both his hands on her own and softly runs her thumbs over his knuckles. He felt the slight pain that came from it, but he's felt worse and so he kept himself from expressing his discomfort.

"Think you have enough?" The former Army Ranger questions and when the grey haired woman looks up and silently questions what he means he tilts his head gesturing to his side which, like he knew it would, bruised up along with a good portion of his back that had randoms spots from the rocks. Her eyes almost bug out of her head and he can tell she wasn't thinking when she sat on the cot and softly, but forcefully tugged on him until he was on his side and began running her hand over his back.

"I need to fully clean your side and back before I can apply the cream. Won't do much go if its being stopped from doing its jobs by dried sweat and dirt that may have gotten through your shirt" the Peletier woman tells him before she reaches over the edge and pick the bowl up then sets it near her prior to grabbing the wet rag and wringing the water from it. "Tell me if this hurts" she mentions as she softly places the rag on his side.

"You're fine, I've felt worse" he tells her as she wipes his side. Jake doesn't really know where to look, that is until he sees how much the tank top she was wearing hung off her skin leaving her black bra covered breasts visible to his eyes. He shouldn't be staring like some teenager who's seeing a woman's chest for the first time, he knows this and had seen a woman's chest no more than an hour and half ago and many times before then, but he can't stop looking. Watching as they slightly jiggle with each movement of her arm.

"If I wasn't okay with you staring, I'd probably have told you something by now and slapped you across the face" she tells him and his gaze lifts up to her face to see that her gaze was already on his and a small teasing smirk had pulled at the corner of her lips. Not one to be outdone and letting his 'serious' facade slip, he decided to see who would cave first.

"Well, I thought it only be fair that I be allowed to peek seeing as you're getting the full view" he replies with a teasing smirk of his own forming at the corner of his lips and even goes to the length of gesturing to his bare torso where the hand with the rag had still then to his hip where her other hand was atop his pants using it to hold herself up. A mischievous glint flashes in her eyes and he's not afraid of it, but rather curious as to see what would come from it.

"I suppose you're right, it's only fair" Carol tells him and the look she had on her face earlier when they were having that little moment in her tent she removed her hands from his body, leaving the rag where it was on his side, before fully kneeling on his cot facing him then reached down for the hem of her shirt.

The former SFC raised an eyebrow, which she returned, at her action before she went and pulled the piece of clothing clear over her head and tossed it on his dufflebag a couple feet away. Then as if that wasn't enough, she reached behind her going for the clasp of her bra and while he was mentally telling himself to stop her and make sure this is what she wanted, it registered in his mind that this was a different and free Carol who didn't do a damn thing she didn't want to.

His eyes watched as her cups loosened on her breasts and her bra straps moved to fall off her shoulder before she, as if it were a band aid and while she still had the confidence to do so, removed her bra and tossed it atop her shirt, the beauty before him was now completely bare to him from the waist up. The Peletier woman didn't even both to cover her chest with her hands and instead rubbed her hands along her thighs which he gaze was staring at, as if afraid of what he'd say or if he would look at her disgusted.

While yes, she was a little on the skinny side, but he blamed that on her abusive former husband and the camps lack luster of food that had actual protein which would put muscle on your bones, not to mention how every only ever got enough portion wise to fill them up slightly. Other than that, she was beautiful and her breast were firmer and perkier than one would think which he thought was hot. Though he ran his gaze over all over her, stopping briefly at the waistband of her pants where a piece of black fabric peeked out, those green with a haze of grey colored eyes focused more on her breasts.

"You're beautiful" he whispered and it appeared she wasn't expecting that answer because she lifted her gaze to show that it was one of shock. She moved to say something, but he cut her off by pulling her, she lightly yelped in surprise, atop him as he moved to lay on his back. Then without wasting anymore time crashed his lips on her. The woman above him was still for a moment before she returned the kiss and like earlier wasn't long before it got heated.

With his mind occupied on something else he wouldn't be feeling much of anything that wasn't her body against his or the tent that was forming in his pants, which was why he thought cleaning his torso and putting the pain cream on could wait because god, she made him feel like an inpatient teenage boy. That is until she put her hands on his chest and pushed herself away from him breaking the kiss.

"Clean and cream, then more of this after. A lot more" she whispers and teasingly ghosts her lips over his and he moves forwards to capture them only for her to pull back with a small playful smirk. "Deal?" The Peletier matriarch asks with an eyebrow raised in question and her breasts on full display. Carol then grasps one of his arms and moves it to her chest where she allowed him to cup one of her breasts, which she moaned lowly at the contact, but it was only for a few seconds before she removed his hand and gave him a look that repeated her question.

"Fuck, fine. Deal" he caves. Damn, he's so weak and he's not even sex deprived. It's just what she does to him, she's subtly dug her way into his heart. Carol drops his hand then moves grab the rag and without having he get up he spins under her onto his stomach as she then goes back to wiping him down as if they weren't just making out like a bunch of teenagers.

'Not the worst plan I've ever been apart of' Bear thought to himself as he lay atop a ledge with the SR-25 per setup on its bipod with the extra beside it and his eye gazing through the scope and finger on the trigger. Down below him was Glenn preparing to make a run for the bag of guns along with Shane and Daryl who'd be making sure the alley was clear for his return while Rick and T-Dog were a bit further down the street acting a plan B extraction point.

Reaching his left hand down towards where his open pack rested against the ledge he dug through his things until he pulled out a couple slim jims and quickly tears one open and takes a bite out of it without so much as moving either his eyes or finger from the weapon. As he's chewing a whistle comes from down below which was serving as the signal that it was showtime and, so after another bite he properly aim the SR-25 and watches as the Korean male makes his way down the street as fast as his feet can take him while dodging undead stragglers as he goes.

Aiming the barrel at a walker that's about to grab for former pizza delivery boy he quickly takes the shots sending a bullet into its skull killing it then comes out the other side with rotten brain splatting on the floor. The former Army Ranger fires off a couple more rounds into two other walkers killing them and just as he goes back to watching the runner, the male disappears from view which he knew would happen.

Bear begins to countdown the seconds that Glenn said should take him to grab the weapons before returning back to view and making his way back to Shane and Daryl.

"Ayudame!" A male teenagers voice starts shouting from down below and as much as he wants to look, his gaze stays where it is knowing that the two down below should be able to handle the situation.

"Ayudame!" The teen shouts again and he begins to wonder who the hell he's calling out to for help. That is until it registers that this kid has others with him, a group, and just like he figured the plan had gone to shit.

"Ayuda-" the kid was cut off abruptly and thinking one of the two down below did something he moved towards the edge and looked down below to see a hispanic teen in a white tank top resting against the wall while on his ass. In front of him the two members of his group were arguing with one another and didn't see the two hispanic males making their way down the alley both holding bats.

"Watch out!" The former SSG shouted down to the two idiots below who didn't hear him over their arguing and ended up being ambushed and getting beaten on by the two others. Someone appeared in his peripheral and he turned his gaze which landed on Glenn who looked shocked at what was happening.

There was then a shotgun being fired and his gazed turned back to the fight only to see one of the attackers land on his back, dead, a couple feet away from the former deputy with a shotgun blast in his chest. The area had grown still and quiet until it was broken by the sound of screeching tires which drew everyone's attention.

Out of an classic Cadillac hopped out another three hispanic men with one of them holding a snub nose revolver and the other two holding bats though instead of attacking each grabbed Glenn by an arm and began dragging him away. Not one to let a team member be taken by the enemy he aimed down the scope of his rifle and fired a round into one of the guys' knee causing him to drop both the bat and let go of the korean male and falling to the floor while screaming out.

The guy with the revolver ducked down to check on his friend just as the shaggy hair dick fired off another round which landed into the back of the man still holding Glenn, who instantly fell to the floor dead. Not wanting to die the last hispanic male holding his bat hit both Shane and Daryl in the back of the head just before running over towards his companion and they both grabbed the former pizza delivery boy.

Bear was just about to fire another round which would wound another one of the men and give his team member a sufficient amount of time to get away, but the revolver wielder aimed his gun up towards him and fired a round which scraped the side of his cheek and earlobe which caused him to pull back into cover which gave the two hispanic males the opening they needed to drag Glenn into the car, but not before one of them let out a pain filled scream followed by the screeching of tires.

Standing up and aiming his rifle towards the street which the car was hauling ass down and he was about to fire off a shot into the driver, but held up when he realized that his actions could result in an accident which could kill his group member and if that didn't then the walkers filling the street surely would. Cursing himself for taking his eyes off the slightly younger male and not having his back he quickly threw his extra ammo and slim jims, one was still open though he didn't care, into his pack which he zipped up and quickly began making his way to the fire escape where he made a quick descent just as Rick and T-Dog appeared.

Once his boots were on the ground the former SSG turned towards the remnants of his group to see Rick talking with both Shane and Daryl who were rubbing the backs of their heads where they'd been hit while T-Dog watched the hispanic teen. The older hispanic male had either passed out from pain or knocked out because his pained cries were drawing in more walkers. The bag of guns had risked his life to get lay at the feet of the three talking men.

"Hey, we need to get out of the alley before more walkers show up, we'll discuss what the fuck just happened and then find out where they took Glenn, for right now each of you shut the fuck up and let's go!" He shouted at the three men who had gone quiet at the raise of his voice and each looked like they wanted to argue, but his glare along with the sound of the dumpster that had been pushed against the fence screeching across the ground let them know that the amount of undead piling against the fence and trying to get to them were moving the waste storage.

For some odd reason, he felt like Jake with how he was dishing out orders.

Jake who had been laying on his belly while Carol slowly, painfully so, rubbed the cream on his back from her seated position atop his hips sneezed.

"Bless you" Carol replied as she rubbed a particular painful area and it took some doing to keep quiet.

"Thank you" he responded which caused the woman to smile though he couldn't see it. 'Somebody is talking about me' the male mentally claims to himself and wonder who the person could be, but tossed it out the window and decided to just enjoy the massage he was getting.

"In here" Bear ordered the group as he pulled open the door to the building they were in earlier. T-Dog entered first, followed by the teen who had Ricks python aimed at his back, Rick, and lastly Shane and Daryl who were carrying the unconscious hispanic male. Once inside himself he bolted the door as best he could before heading up the stairs and finding the group gathered in what appeared to be a storage room that had been slightly cleared out, must've been before the Outbreak.

It was time to get information about where Glenn was taken and judging by the look on the teens face he wouldn't be talking, least not yet. He just hoped they didn't have to resort to such drastic measures to get what they needed. The teen was just a kid. Plus, they had two former cops who've probably done the whole good cop bad cop act many times before, him a former Army Ranger who's seen a fair share of information gathering, and then there's Daryl who looked pissed off that he just got his ass kicked.

He'd be last resort. For now, they needed to discuss what went wrong with the plan.

 **-x-**

Okay, so the whole good cop bad cop act hadn't worked which meant either this kid was confident in his ability to keep his mouth shut, he'd seen to many movies where the act had taken place, or at one point in time may have found himself in an interrogation room. Either way, plan A hadn't worked, so it was time for plan B. Him.

"Mira, no quiero hacerte daño, pero si no me dices dóndé está mi amigo, voy a tener que" he fluently spoke to the teen in Spanish which seemed to have caught him off guard along with the rest of them. Though, he didn't see why the members of his group shouldn't know he could speak it, he was hispanic spoke it sometimes with Jake, Jase, Rone, and sometimes Morales though mostly when the joke he's saying is funnier in spanish.

"Si no me dices que voy a dejar que mi amigo campesino de allá te vaya y acaba de cortar la mano de la último person que lo molesto" he told teen who looked both scared, but defiant as if he wanted though also didn't want to believe him. Either way he stayed quiet and continued to not say a word. "Hazlo a tu manera" the former SFC shrugged before walking over to Daryl and whispering "he ain't going to talk, show him Merle's hand and tell him that's what happened to the last person who pissed you off. I know it ain't right, but making him think we'll do the same to him will make the kid talk."

The younger Dixon nodded his head while keeping his face stoic though his eyes showed that he was uncomfortable using his brother's severed hand, but if he thought it'd work and get back a member of their group then he'd do it. Walking over to Glenn's back he popped it open before grabbing a clothing and pulling out the hand.

"My fren here says ya don wan talk, look here what I did to the last guy who piss me off. Took it as a souvenir" Daryl said in the southern twang before tossing his brothers hand on the teens lap who looked down and began freaking out. He fell out of his chair and crawled as far away as he could with a look of fear on his face. "Now, why don't ya tell me where ma fren is or I'm gone do the same to _**yer ass**_ " the last two words came out as a hiss with an actual bit of venom and authority to it.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk..." the young hispanic male said quickly while holding his hands up in defense. His eyes were wide open and filled with fear and there was no doubt he was just about to tell them everything.

 **-x-**

Bear was once again looking through his scope though this time his sight was locked on the warehouse/garage which Rick, Daryl, and Shane were approaching which was where the teen, whose name he didn't care to learn, had told them his group was holding up in and where Glenn was being held. Hidden behind a broken down wall about twenty feet behind his group members was T-Dog who was holding the man, which the former SFC wounded earlier, that was now tied up and gagged to so he wouldn't be making a lot of noise.

When the steel door slid open and a group of about fifteen men of hispanic descent ranging in different kind of clothing and a range of weapons from melee to firearm, he flipped his SR-25 off safety and had his finger on the trigger ready to fire. The downside to being as far away from the group as he was, was that he couldn't hear anything more of the conversation that was going on than what sounded like mumbling between Rick and who he assumed was the leader of the opposing group.

It didn't take long for the things to get heated especially after the guy who was holding his ass and the same snub nose revolver from earlier, who Daryl claims to have shot in the ass, appeared with his gun raised and aimed at the younger Dixon. Then what he assumed was the topic of the two dead and two captured members of their group was brought up since volumes were raised and then the unknown leader pointed to the roof of the building behind him.

Moving his sight to the gestured direction he saw that Glenn had been ledge and was nearing being thrown off, with a scared shitless look adorning his facial features. This caused a familiar itch to fill his finger and he really wanted to scratch it, but the consequences of doing so could be unbeneficial to his group's safety and he'd rather not be the cause of his group members' deaths. So, instead he held off as he decided to wait and therefore turned his sight back on the three members of his group just as Rick pointed towards him.

The former Sheriff's deputy and the other groups leaded conversed for another couple minutes before the two groups went their own way with the hispanics males going back into their hideout while his group headed back towards where T-Dog was waiting, Rick turned to him and gave him a signal to follow. He hated following orders that weren't given by Jake and instead were being given by a guy who didn't really seem to know what he was doing, and if he were being honest was a little too soft though what can you expect from a guy who's been sleeping up until a little under a week ago.

Had his best friend come with them instead of staying back at camp they would've gotten this all sorted out by now. He would've had the others watch their backs as the two of them snuck in and got their group member back and while sure some people would met their ends in the process and a couple things might've gone boom, but things would be done.

Throwing his pack onto his back and lifting up his rifle he headed back the way he came though made sure that no walkers or members of the other group had come for him and once seeing things were clear double timed over towards the others who were already gathered and discussing what was to be done. They were already arguing, well Rick and Shane were, when he appeared and honestly he was getting annoyed with how this two each tried being the alpha male and it they were really making it hard for him not to knock their asses out or shoot them.

"Look, just because Jake gave us these guns to use doesn't mean they have more of them for us..." Rick claimed which caused Bear to roll his eyes because, yes they did. They had a whole damn trailer full of guns, ammo, and explosive ordinances, but neither were going to say anything about it. "So we're going to need all the guns and ammo we can get, but I think give up a few in order to get Glenn back is worth the payment."

"Listen, I get that he's apart of the group and all, but we need to cut our losses and get the fuck outta dodge. We may have the superior weaponry, but they have the numbers and can easily overtake us if they wanted and in the end we all end up dead. So, I say we leave" Shane argued back with his shotgun resting against his shoulder and a careless look on his face.

Daryl, had a neutral look on his face which showed that he wasn't surprised by what the former shaggy haired deputy had just said and honestly neither was he. The man had been after the Dixon's since they arrived at camp and the he'd been the same with Jake after he beat the shit out of Ed and accused Shane of knowing and not doing a damn thing, because it was true. T-Dog did look shocked, as did the teen and hispanic male who was sitting on the ground while Rick looked disgusted at his friend's words.

How can you say something like that? You don't sound like the my best friend, I don't even know you are right now" The Grimes male claimed as he looked at his friend who appeared unaffected by the other man's words, as if he couldn't care less.

"It's because unlike you I've seen and come to accept how things are now in this age in time. You're not the guy who's going to be able to make the big decisions like this one Rick. You aren't the guy who is going to keep your family safe. They're going to end up dead because of you" Shane responded in a neutral voice and he had this glint in his eyes that silently said what he hadn't verbally and this got a response out of his best friend.

The older of the two former deputies swung his right hand across the table at the man standing in front of him and clocking the shaggy haired dickhead across the face with a right hook that sent his 'best friend' to the ground. Shane moved to get up, but Rick was already on him about to swing away at the fences though was pulled of by Bear who, as much as he wanted to watch the officer dickhead get hit, figured now wasn't the time especially with Glenn's life depending on them.

"Now isn't the time to be fighting, Glenn needs us. Have your cock fight later, right now we got work that needs to be done" the former SSG stated as he practically tossed Rick towards the table while the other male stayed on the floor looking pissed and shocked by what just happened. "Look, offer these guys half the guns and then let's get the hell out of dodge" he continued while walking over towards the bag of guns and opened it to see what weapons would be worth keeping.

After pulling out a few of the weapons and some ammo he searched the building they were in and fortunately, found a duffle bag that could be used to carry the guns that would be given away so that they wouldn't give away the only bag big enough to carry their half. Once the guns were separated in their own bags he gestured for the others that it was time for the meet and therefore, they gathered up their things and headed out even the guy who would be having trouble walking.

Since Bear, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog were so concentrated on going and getting Glenn back neither of them noticed that Shane hadn't tagged along and instead grabbed the bag of guns that was meant for the group and making his way out the front door. He checked for walkers and when he saw none he headed back the way they came intending on leaving the group behind. Lifting up his right hand he pulled out the keys he'd taken from Rick's pocket when the other man got atop him to pound his face in.

He wouldn't admit it outloud, but he was hoping they all died because that would get rid of some of his problems. Bear wouldn't be there to back Jake up anymore, Rick could no longer keep him and Lori apart, Daryl would no longer be a thorn in his ass, and T-Dog and Glenn while not a bother neither really contributed to the protection of the group nor could either of them lead it. Least in his eyes.

While the piece of shit former deputy made his way towards the SUV, Bear and the others arrived outside the building where the 'Vatos', which was Rick said they called themselves, were holding up and not long after did the steel door open and out walked the group. The leader gestured for them to follow and Bear took off his bag while pretended to check for something, but was really preparing the C4 he had inside in case things go bad and without anyone noticing slipped the detonator into his jacket pocket.

Once inside a conversation was had between G, the Vatos leader, and Rick and judging by how the bag of guns was pointed towards he knew what the convo was about, but didn't pay it any mind seeing as his gaze was running over everyone present looking for any threats that needed immediate attention. The former SSG only returned his attention back to the two men talking when an old woman appeared talking about how someone was having a medical emergency when she noticed Rick in his deputy uniform and asked if he was there to take her grandson away which he responded by saying no and that they were only looking for a friend.

A couple more minutes after that they were leaded out of the warehouse into an opening where there was a path and small playground before the group were lead into an old folks home where 'Vatos' could be seen everyone talking to or taking care of the senior citizens that were there. The four men then entered what looked like the cafeteria or at least the common room where people were gathered around someone.

When they created a path for them they saw an old dark skinned man having an asthma attack and standing a couple feet to the side was Glenn unharmed and without any binds while looking concerned about the man who was given an inhaler. Once that was taken care of Rick said something to the Vatos leader and walked away until he reached and empty room and entered and there is where a conversation was had, apologies for given for the men who were killed, and the bag full of half the guns and ammo were handed over so that these people could protect themselves.

"Uh, guys, where's Shane?" The Korean male asked while his eyes scanned the group searching for an answer and this in turn caused them to turn, expecting to see the shaggy haired male, but saw no one there.

"I been meaning to ask where that shaggy haired gringo was" G or Guillermo stated as he looked at Rick who then began checking his pockets and then his eyes widened before lifting his gaze to Bear who just by looking at the man knew what happened.

"That motherfucker, I'm going to gut that son of a bitch when I see him" he muttered angrily before checking to see his rifle had a round in the chamber then headed for the exit with the others hot on his tail. He could hear Rick telling the others what had happened and once they were fully out of the Vatos HQ they ran for the building they had been in to find it empty with the guns gone.

"Son of a bitch took the guns, he's more than likely headed back for camp and going to report us all dead more. Oh, there's going to be a big surprise waiting for him when he gets there, if we don't get to him first that is" Bear gritted out before heading for the door and after checking and seeing no walkers he took off his bag and turned off the C4 before pulling out his walkie talkie and contacting the base. The cocksucker wasn't going to get away with what he did.

"Jake..." Rone voice heard a voice call over the C.B. from where he was talking to Morales about what to do with Jim who was currently chained up to a tree. Literally. "Jake, come in brother" it was Bear's voice and with knowing him as long as he did, Ty knew something was wrong and quickly made his way over towards the radio before anyone else could.

"Hey, brother, it's Rone. What's going on?" He asked into the speaker and waited for a reply, most of the camp had gathered around him since they also wanted to hear what was going on. Each of them hoped nothing had gone wrong.

"Get. Me. Jake. **Now** " He'd only ever heard his friend's voice this angry once and the events the followed landed them all in jail for a night, until they were released by Jake's dad.

"Roger that" was all he replied knowing not to argue with either of his oldest friends when they were angry because he'd just end up on their bad side until they cooled down and that wasn't something he wanted at this point in time. Especially, since Jake was confined to quarters, though it seemed he'd be let out early.

'God help whoever pissed him off...' Tyrone thought as he made his way past the group and towards Jake and Jase's tent with the teen Gonzalez quickly following after him.

 **A/N: Well here's the new chapter. If you haven't already heard or noticed a somewhat different version of this fic has been uploaded. At the latest two weeks there won't be another update for this fic seeing as I don't have anything more than a quarter of the next chapter done and with my new fic progress will be slowed and because I want to at least get two chapter ahead before posting, but tis not over, not to mention I have work. Though, I will post as soon as possible. Hopefully, I can post sooner Until Next Time. I hope the reviews I get for this chapter aren't that bad. Until Next Time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Close Call Unfinished Business**

 **(A/N:** I realize I didn't put my -- pov changer notifiers in my last chapter which may have confused people and I apologize. I've tried correcting it, but when I edit the file it messes up, so I decided to leave it as is at least for the time being though it will be fixed soon. **As always, I apologize for crappy dialogue, changes, and grammar mistakes.)**

After Carol had finished rubbing the numbing cream on his back, which numbed her hands a bit and honestly felt more like a massage that was very much enjoyed, she had gotten off his back and washed her hands in the bowl. Though, it wasn't long after Jake had pulled the Peletier woman down onto his cot getting a low yelp in surprise from, well he supposes she's his lover until things get cleared up, the silver haired MILF before capturing her lips in a very deep and thankful kiss. The 24 year old smiled against the woman's lips when instead of stiffening up because of her past, instead, she began kissing him back without any hesitation and dug her hands into his hair causing the lip lock to grow a bit more passionate and heated.

After a couple minutes when the need for air became necessary J pulled away from the kiss and rested his forehead against Carol's as they both panted though him less than, well supposes she falls into the category of, his lover as they stared into one another's eyes. Knowing where he wanted to steer this and by the look in MILF's green eyes she wanted the same thing and moved himself until he was fully over her and between the woman's legs. Both his hands were currently being used to keep his fully body weight off of her.

The Peletier matriarch pulled him back down to her causing their lips to once again connect beginning another heated kiss to commence. Their tongues battle one another for dominance and let's just say it wasn't at one-sided as Jake thought it would be because Carol put up quite a fight. Sure, he could've thought it was because she had experience fighting a tongue from her mouth, but in this situation she was the one who initiated the lip lock and by the way she was keeping him against her meant she had no intention of pushing him away.

In a move to test whether she was truly okay with going further the former Army Ranger moved one of his hands down the cot towards her shoulder then across the skin of the silver haired woman's collarbone until it firmly though not painfully cupped her breast and squeezed it. Carol lightly moaned at the feel of him squeezing her boob then let out another one when he began circling his thumb around her nipple.

Wanting to hear more of this magical sound coming from the woman beneath him J moved his lips away from hers and began kissing a trail down her jaw to her neck, specifically beauties pulse point where he lightly sucked as to not leave a hickey well not a big one that is. This got the reaction he wanted plus a bonus that had Carol moaning and him groaning because his actions caused her hips to buck up rubbing their clothed crotches together and the friction felt amazing. Unfortunately, the movement also caused him to suck on her neck harder than he planned and there was no doubt a hickey was going to be left behind in his wake.

Though neither seemed to care about that at the moment.

J wasn't exactly a fan of 'dry humping', but he wasn't about to rush what was happening between him and Peletier woman, therefore, the former Ranger slowly pressed his crotch down against her and slowly began a thrusting/grinding motion. It went without saying he'd gotten the reaction he wanted and the woman beneath him began moaning at the feel of his motions though it also went without saying he too was being affected and it had him groaning against her neck.

'Need more' Jake thought to himself and began kissing a trail down Carol's neck to her collarbone where he lightly nibbles on the skin before licking the area then continues on his journey. It was seconds later his lips reached her nipples and wrapped themselves around it which he began sucking on and it had the Peletier woman writhing beneath him while biting her lips to keep from being too loud. Her movements had their crotches rubbing together and it made it hard for him to focus on his task.

Though it wasn't one, Jake Gonzalez was never one to back down from a challenge and therefore, continued with his task though with more vigor that had Carol sounding like she was trying her hardest to not let anyone onto what they were doing. The 24 year old then switched nipples as he thrusted/grinded harder against her which in turn had silver haired beauty, who still had her hands in his hair, lightly yank on it and pull him closer letting him non-verbally know she didn't want him to stop.

Of course, as usual all great things must come to an end because J stopped his actions though this time it was only so it could get better. Without any words the former SFC continued kissing a trail down Carol's body, but stopped for a few seconds to swirl his tongue around the woman's belly button which caused her to take shorter and quicker breaths than she already had been. When he reached her jeans he stopped and for the first time since they had their foreheads together he looked up and met her half-lidded green eyes while asking a silent question.

A nod, a nod was all he needed in order to move his knees under him to hold his body weight so that he could use both hands to unbutton and unzip her pants which revealed the black cotton panties underneath. Looking back up at her again he placed a kiss on the front of her underwear while moving his hands to the waistband both articles of clothing and once again silently asking for permission.

Another nod and his day just continued to get better. Carol lifted her hips in order to help him pull both her pants and panties off completely and dropped onto the floor leaving her completely bare to him. He stared, he couldn't help himself from doing so nor did he want to look away from the sight of her laying naked before him. His eyes ran over every inches of her body from her beautiful green eyes, her puffy lips from kissing, the soft dry skin of her body, beautiful modest sized breasts that were still a bit wet from being in his mouth, her flat belly, silver pubic hair, and her delicious looking wet core.

The Peletier matriarch appeared as if she was about to cover herself in shyness, but Jake beat her to the punch and situated himself between her thighs which he'd moved over his shoulders. Looking back up to meet his lover's eyes he watched as she covered her face in embarrassment at their current position which lasted a couple moments before spreading her fingers and peering at him through them.

Wanting to tease her and see her reaction he leaned down and trailed a slow wet lick up along her lips causing her to shiver while letting out the sexiest moan she had, so far. Not wanting to let the moment end he did it again and again, each time just as slow as the previous one. Then, he moved one hand and used it to spread her lips before allowing himself to slip his tongue inside her where he slowly began to fuck her with his tongue.

Carol became a moaning mess though she'd been able to control herself, but it appeared to be just barely, from moaning loudly and letting everyone know what they were up to. Her hands in his hair were really beginning to pull on his hair which had him groaning and tongue fucking her deeper and quicker.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, right there, don't stop" she tells him quickly while sounding out of breath as she began to buck her hips and literally started fucking his face. By the way her way began to clench around his tongue let him know she was growing close and not one to leave a job unfinished he decide to help her along further by moving his other hand to her clit and began rubbing it. He watched as Carol grabbed his pillow and covered her face with it seconds prior to letting out a pleasure filled cry as she hit her peak.

Turns out, the Peletier MILF was a squirter and it was the hottest fucking thing ever, at least to him it was. He knew for a fact Bear and Rone weren't exactly big fans, but neither complained when it happened.

When the woman came down from her high and removed his pillow from her face she looked at him only for those green eyes of hers to grew wide in shock followed by going completely red, literally, from embarrassment when she caught sight of his face and how wet she'd left it. Carol wasted no time in covering her face once again with his pillow in an effort to hide herself from the world and what just happened.

"You know..." J started while resting his drenched beard on her thigh as he looked up into her green eyes with a neutral gaze that had the Peletier woman holding her breath and waiting for what he was about to say. "I like a squirter" he grinned before giving her lips one more lick before moving up her body and kissing her other lips allowing the woman to taste herself.

"Sophia, you're not allowed to go in there!" A voice, sounding much like Dale's shouted out which caused the two adults to grow stock still realizing what was more than likely going on outside and what was possibly about to happen.

This caused them both to quickly get off the cot and move about the tent as they quickly began getting dressed though all Jake had to do was throw on a shirt and wipe his face while also cover the wet spot of his bed while Carol had to literally get completely dressed which she did in half the time it should've taken her because J helped her gather and put on her clothes. He slipped on and clasped the Peletier woman's bra while she pulled up both her pants and underwear which she then zipped and button. Both had momentarily ignored the sounds coming from outside the tent.

"Sophia, don't!" The two of them heard just as the MILF threw on her shirt which was quickly followed by the tent flap being unzipped just enough for Sophia to slip into the tent and stare up at her both and the man she considered a father figure. She had no idea what she'd almost walked in on and caused the two adults to leave business unfinished.

"Mom!" Sophia cried out before running to hug her mother who quickly embraced the young child. "They wouldn't let me come see you" the 12 year old whined like the preteen she was.

"It's okay baby, I'm here now" Carol cooed to her daughter while running her hand through the girl's hair.

"Thank you, for protecting my momma, again" Sophia stated causing Jake to look down at her and see that she'd been talking to him. He gave her a big smile followed by a nod then knelt down and spread his arms out wide waiting for a hug that came seconds later.

The child crashed into him and almost knocked him onto his back, but he kept himself up and hugged her back. His eyes caught sight of something shiny and saw that it was the necklace of his dog tags and it caused him to let out another smile then looked up to Carol who'd been watching silently with a smile on her face. Getting any idea J picked up Soph and walked over to the elder Peletier and pulled her into their hug which she joined without hesitation and all three of them just stood their hugging each other.

"Jake..." a voice called from the tent entrance and they all turned to see Rone standing there panting slightly and by the look on his face let both Carol and Jake know that the reason he was there wasn't a good one.

"What?" The former SFC asked while removing himself from the hug and putting Sophia down before walking over.

"Something happened and you aren't going to like it..."

 **A/N:** Sorry for the late and short update, but I got carried away with enjoying my summer and didn't do much writing until today and quickly knocked out this chapter and decided to post it. It took longer than two weeks to update and for that I apologize. Also, I'm not very great at writing lemon scenes because I have trouble including every detail I want, it's a work in progress though. Leave a review, just hope it isn't too bad.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Monsters & Cowards**

"How do you know something bad happened when he hasn't told you anything yet?" Jake questioned as he walked alongside Rone who told him that Bear was on the radio and things sounded bad while Jase trailed behind them as they headed over towards the CB where some of the others of the group had gathered, but nobody moved to use the mic.

"He sounded _pissed,_ like the time when that guy was trying to grope and force his tongue into Amy's mouth pissed" Ty told his longtime friend who turned and looked at him with slightly widened eyes letting the almost Engineer know he remembered that night well. After all, Jake did spend the night in the same with their best friend after that incident. This resulted in the former SFC jogging over towards the CB as people part for him and picked up the mic.

"Bearm it's Jake, what's going on?" J quickly questions before releasing the talk button. His eyes scanned the faces of everyone around him to see various expressions.

" **The son of a bitch left us!** " His oldest friend literally growled into the mic and Jake looked over towards Amy who looked worried about her fiance and what had him so angry.

"What are you talking about? Who left you?" He asked, but for some reason felt as if he already know though wanted to be sure before saying anything.

" **Shane,** he got into a fight with Rick over Glenn in which he took the keys to the SUV then when we went to make the exchange the coward left us and took the other half of the guns" while he didn't understand what his brother meant about Glenn or some exchange, but that currently didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that Officer dickhead left his best friend and the others to their unknown fates.

Jake's eyes then went to Lori who looked shocked at the information then down to Carl who also looked shocked, but he could tell it was mostly because of the child hearing the man who helped save them hit his dad more than the fact that he left him behind.

"It'll take him half an hour to make it back to the SUV then another hour before he gets back to camp. We would've caught up to him by now, but we came across a small herd and had to double back and take the long way around. We've been meaning to hotwire another car and get out of here only problem is that herd is still on our asses and doesn't leave us much time to do so" Bear explained and now that he wasn't growling the man's quick breathing from the continuous running he was doing could be heard over the radio.

"Listen, I got to go, but Jake before I do... **His ass is mine!"** The radio went silent after that and the former SFC tried a couple times to see if he could reach his friend, only to get no response. Those around him had begun to talk amongst one another and none really believed that Shane, their friend and group member, would do such a thing. Though in a world where the dead walk, anything is possible.

"Son of a bitch!" The ex-Ranger exclaimed after his attempts before throwing the mic at the CB then walking away back to his tent. Everyone quickly moved out of his way though others like Lori, the Harrison sisters, the Peletier girls, Rone, and Jase followed after him with each wanting to know what was going to be done about the situation.

For the time being it seemed everything Jake did earlier that day to Ed was forgotten and replaced by what Shane had done and whether it was true or not. If it was indeed true then whatever his reason for doing what he'd done better be good or he's gonna end up in a hole with a bullet in his head.

 **-x-**

The girls watched Jake pace back and forth in his tent from either his or Jase's cot while his brothers stood in the open space between the flaps where they on occasion looked over their shoulders at the others of their camp who would throw constant glances their way every once in awhile. Nobody had yet to speak, each waiting for to hear what the former SFC was going to say about the situation. That is until Jase appeared to have had enough of the silence and decided to speak up.

"So, what're you going to do when Shane gets here?" The question caused J to stop in his tracks and look over those gathered around him before staring at the younger Gonzalez with a glint in his eyes that both Jase and Rone had ever seen twice before.

"What do you think?" Jake questioned his cousin sarcastically and the teen only nodded not needing more to be said.

"What does that mean? Are you going to kill him?" Lori, deciding that wasn't enough of an answer for her, stood up and walked up the male who towered over her by a few inches. "He's still a member of this group, he deserves a chance to explain his actions" the Grimes woman tells him while staring up into his eyes with a hard glare.

"And he's going to get that chance, but only after I show him the consequences of his decisions" the former Army Ranger tells the brunette woman firmly letting her and the others know that his mind has been made up and there was no changing it.

"Just like you did Ed?" She questions which caused the tent to once again become silent as the grew tense.

"Ed, got less than what he truly deserved. I could've killed him right then and there if I wanted and not lose a wink of sleep, but didn't. That monster is alive and breathing instead of in a hole in the ground" Jake replied to her without any hesitation and with a voice that was neutral of any emotion though his eyes and body showed he was holding in his rage. He glanced over to Carol who was looking at Lori with her own anger.

"A monster has many definitions and forms" the Grimes woman claimed and this caused everyone to grow tense at the accusation she had just unsubtly made.

"So, I'm a monster? Me? The guy who's been helping keep this camp fed, supplied, and protected? Who made sure a portion of this group had a chance to come back to those who care about them while Shane wanted to leave them behind? A man that unlike the other so called men of this group actually put a stop to Ed's reign of terror over his family? Who made sure your husband didn't walk into hell on Earth with nothing but a six shooter? Yeah, I'm a real monster" responded the former SFC making Lori's eyes widened at how angry he sounded he before he side stepped his accuser then exited the tent and walking away though not before Rone handed the male his rifle knowing his longtime friend needed time to cool down and would more than likely head into the woods to do so, but didn't want him going unarmed.

"You know, he's not wrong. I don't hate Shane though other than creating this camp with you, fetching the water, and acting as the groups glorified body guard and leader he hasn't really done anything for us" Rone spoke up causing everyone, except for Jase who was staring in the direction his cousin disappeared in with a somewhat saddened expression, to look at him though said male's gaze was on his boots while his arms were crossed. Everyone present, even Sophia, knew that the man's words were directed at Lori only looked down in shame.

"He's also the one who came up with the idea for Glenn to take a group with him into town as well as made the decision to live them all to die" Amy added before getting up and walking out of the tent. Andrea followed after her sister though prior to that she gave the Grimes woman a nasty sneer.

After everyone else cleared out leaving the brunette all alone in a tent that belonged to the man who gave her emotional comfort, sexual satisfaction, who had over time become a friend which she trusted above all others, and the one person she knew that if she were in trouble would do what he could to help without any hesitation. Lori Grimes was currently feeling like the biggest asshole in the world.

"Go, go, go!" Bear shouted as he threw his a frag into the herd of walkers that were still following them, which he was very much fed up with already, as the others climbed up the fire escape of an apartment complex. The grenade went off killing several walkers and sending body parts flying everywhere and causing others to get pushed back by the explosions force knocking them down giving the group a couple minutes.

Was it a bad idea to run into this dead end alley? Sure, but it would pay off in the end seeing as the apartment building was connected to another one which would allow scale down the other side and finally escape these undead motherfuckers.

"Come on, Bear, let's go!" Rick shouted as he and T-Dog unloaded their magazines into the next wave of walkers who crawled/walked over their fallen undead comrades. They managed to take a few down as the former SSG began climbing up the ladder and escaping the herd. Once he was atop the first level and gave the others a nod they all began their journey to what they hoped was their escape.

It had been an hour since he left camp and came to this small cliff he'd discovered a couple weeks ago that overlooked the city he considered was definition of hell on Earth, at least until he found a worse one. The trip had taken a half hour to get there and he'd sat for another half hour thinking over everything that had happened since he, Bear, Rone, and Jase arrived at camp. Especially the events that had occurred within the last couple days and while he knew most of the group somewhat feared him, it hurt when one of them insinuated he was a monster even after everything he'd done for them. It was even worse that it came from someone the male considered a friend.

'Time to go' Jake thought to himself as he looked towards the sun which was only a few hours from setting and covering the world in darkness. It also meant that by the time the former SFC made it back to camp Shane would've either arrived already or not depending on whether he remembered the way back.

Getting up off his ass and sparing the view one final glance he turned on his heel and made the journey back to camp.

Jase had sat atop the RV where he couldn't help but on occasion spare glances in the direction his cousin disappeared in and worry for the older male, who he knew could take care of himself, while he was suppose to watching out for walkers or any vehicle coming up the road. Ever since the older Gonzalez left the camp it had been extremely quiet, the only time people made noise was when they cheered for Amy and Andrea who had gone down to the Quarry to fish and had come back successful with two lines full of dinner or when Jim sorta lost it. After that though everything went back to being silent.

Every now and again he would look over at Carol who was cooking the fish with Sophia and Carl as her helpers while Rone was talking with Amy and Andrea. Every now and again both the Peletier mother and daughter would both scan the woods hoping to catch sight of the Jake only to be disappointed when they hadn't caught one. Lori had retreated to her tent and hadn't been seen since and while he was pissed at the woman for insinuating his cousin was a monster, the teen couldn't help but be slightly concerned for the woman who he knew felt guilty and sorry for her words.

The sound of an engine in the distance reaching his ears caused the former high school senior to turn his head away from camp and towards the dirt road where a familiar looking SUV was hauling ass towards them.

"Shane's back!" Shouted causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look up to the teen then all began moving to gather at the top of the dirt road, even Lori who seemed to have heard him came out of her tent and moved to join the others. Climbing down from the RV he began to do the same and pushed his way through the group towards the front where he stood between Rone and the Harrison sisters.

When Shane parked the SUV he quickly cut off the engine and reached towards the passenger seat before climbing out of the vehicle and walked over to them while limping. Jase saw right through it knowing from experience what a fake limp looked like having done it so many times over the years so that he wouldn't have to run in P.E and sometimes when he hadn't felt like practicing for one of the various sports he'd participated in. When he looked over at Rone he saw that the older male had also seen through the act.

"Where's everyone else?" TJ asked adding a hint of concern into his voice and that's when the teen knew the older male was only 'acting the part'. Others had also spared the former engineering student a glance, but none had made any move to say what they'd heard over the radio.

"Dead" the former Sheriff's deputy said without hesitation and Jase had to hold back from calling the man a liar and moving to strike him. Instead, he too 'acted the part' and put on a horrified look on his face and even began to 'tear' up at the 'loss' of the man who was an older brother in all but blood and the guys he'd come to think of as friends.

"No" Amy whispered before hugging her sister and 'crying' into her shoulder while Rone looked shocked. Honestly, he felt if the world hadn't gone to shit then they all could've been acted, shit Amy definitely deserved an Oscar for her part, hell they all did. Everyone who hadn't caught onto what they were doing just looked stunned and somewhat confused at their actions.

"What-what happened?" Lori softly asked as tears began to fill her eyes while she held Carl against her who looked like he was really crying. Jase supposes the twelve year hadn't really made heads of tails of anything and had believed the man who had sorta been a father figure to him

"We found Merle or at least what was left of him before deciding to get the guns and come back..." he started and even adjusted the bag of weapons over his shoulder before continuing "when other survivors came out of nowhere and took Glenn. We managed to capture one of theirs and make him take us to their hideout where Rick tried to negotiate to get Glenn back, but it all went wrong. We were ambushed, I was barely able to grab the guns and make it out of there alive" God it seemed like lying just came naturally to the shaggy haired male as he looked sad and even had the sense to start tearing up.

Unaware to the group Jake had arrived just as Shane did and heard everything that was said from his spot just beyond the tree line, far enough to be hidden from sight. When the explanation was done he quietly emerged from his hiding spot and noticed how everyone's eyes quickly move over towards him and widened though nobody made a move to inform the former deputy of his presence.

"It's funny, I heard a different story" he claimed when he was only a couple feet away from the lying sack of shit who J noticed tensed before turning on his heel to face him only to have the stock of Rone's gun strike the side of his face knocking him unconscious. "Fucking coward" the former SFC muttered before looking up at everyone else to see they were shocked at his actions prior to him picking up the bag of guns. "TJ, Jase hog tie his ass and throw him in his tent" his two brothers nodded then went about picking up the man and walking away to do as they were instructed.

"Dale, put this inside the RV" he said while handing the guns towards the oldest member of their camp who took the bag of guns and headed for his vehicle. "The rest of us will wait for the others to arrive before anything else is to be done" his tone sounded every bit the soldier he use to be.

After that he headed for his tent though stopped beside Lori momentarily and muttered "I'm not a monster" then continued on his way with Sophia quickly running after him and grabbing his hand which he let her hold as they walked away.

 **{A/N: Alright, so here's the next chapter. Hopefully, you all enjoyed reading it and once again I apologize for any change of events, dialogue, grammatical errors, and lack there of action. Leave a comment and tell me what you guys think.**

 **Also, if you guys look at my profile you'll notice my other TWD fic has been deleted that's because I just wasn't feeling it and am thinking of giving it another try and cut down on the OCs.}**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Talks, Herds, and Unhinged Men**

"Jake, why did you hit Shane?" Sophia asked, after twenty minutes, from her spot beside him on his cot and he could feel the young girl's eyes boring into him with curiosity. J currently sat hunched over, head in his hands. The young Peletier was the only company he had seeing as nobody had come to speak with him either because they were afraid of how he'd react to them, were giving him space, or simply just giving themselves time to process how Shane, their friend and group member, lied to them about the others who he left behind.

"He did a bad thing" the former SFC sighed before rubbing his face then turning to look at the young brunette who turned to look at the ground.

"When me or mommy use to do something bad, Ed would hit momma" Soph claimed sadly followed by a sniffle. This in turn caused Jake's heart to break and immediately pull the child into a hug where he held the child gently and kissed the top of her head.

"Oh, sweetheart it's nothing like that. What Shane did was very, very bad because he lied to us and left Bear, Glenn, Daryl, T-Dog, and Mr. Grimes in the city for the monsters to get them" he told her while also making it sound somewhat less horrific than what it really was. While yes, in her short lifetime Sophia had witnessed a great many bad things happen to her mother that had both Peletier women living in fear, so he'd take every opportunity to protect Sophia from the already horrific world they were living in becoming worse than it is.

"What are you going to do with him?" The young girl asked him while pulling back a bit and looking up at him with slightly red colored eyes and tears stains down her cheeks.

"For now, he's going to be kept away from the group and when Bear along with the others come back we're going to have a very important conversation about what he did and what's going to happen" he replies honestly, though leaves out how there was the possibility that Bear or Daryl might kill the man. Plus, even if they did let Shane go what's to say he wouldn't come back to cause trouble or Bear wouldn't just snipe him out once he was away from camp?

"Is he going to die?" She asked him while green eyes stared into his own green with grey ones with a curiousness to them.

"I, uh, I honestly don't know" he didn't want to lie to her so he told the truth, because while he was all for killing the shaggy haired male and was pretty sure Bear, Jase, Rone, and Daryl would be right there with him, the others more than likely wouldn't be. It might come down to a split decision or rather a few against everyone else.

Most would be too scared to condemn someone to such a fate much less partake in making that decision. It would more than likely end up a split decision with the Harrison sisters siding with them while Carol was unknown and everyone else more than likely saying their friend and group member deserves a second chance because he may have done it out of fear and you can't blame someone for being scared. Plus, he was one of them and what kind of people would they be if they just sent him out alone where he'd more than likely find his end?

The sound of the tent flaps opening caused J to pull himself from his thoughts and look over towards the entrance where he saw Rone standing. Once the two made eye contact the former engineering student mouthed 'he's awake' which the former SFC responded by giving the male a nod then gesturing with his head for his long time friend to go watch over Shane until he got there.

"Soph, why don't you go find your mother? I'm going to go talk to Shane" Jake tells the child and that's when he noticed the young girl was still wearing his dog tags and he had to keep a smile from making its way across his lips.

"Okay" Sophia tells him then wipes her face followed by giving the 23 year old one more hug squeeze prior letting go and exiting the tent to go in search of her mom.

Taking a deep breath and moving over towards his duffle bag he pulled out one of his spare boots knives and slid it into his boot then exited the tent himself and scanned over the camp. Everyone was scattered around either talking to others, sitting alone to think, or doing something to keep themselves busy. His eyes caught sight of Carol who was hugging Sophia then continued looking around until his gaze landed on Lori who seemed to have noticed him and was staring at him, but he immediately turned away and headed for Shane's tent.

Outside of the former deputy's tent was Jase who looked as if he were on guard, the two exchanged a nod before J walked passed him and inside only to find Rone watching the traitor, because that's what he was, who was on his knees while hog tied and gagged and glaring at the 22 year old which promised pain once he was freed.

"Hey, dickface" the former SFC called out causing the shaggy haired man to turn and look at him only to receive a punch to his cheek getting a pain filled grunt as the man fell on his side. Some would say punching someone who couldn't fight back was a cowardly thing to do, but couldn't the same be said about torture and other things people did to those who couldn't fight back or to gather necessary information? It felt somewhat satisfying being able to hit the man who thought himself King.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Ty reached down and lifted the downed man back onto his knees where the tied up male glared at person assaulting him. He then said something, but the gag made it inaudible with it sounding like nothing more than a grumble.

"What was that?" Jake asked while reaching down and removing the gag from the former deputy's mouth.

"I said, once I get out of these restraints I'm going to beat you to death" he threatened with a sneer and looked as if more was going to come out of his mouth only for the former SFC to gag him once again before receiving another punch though not as powerful as the first.

"That's possible, but first you're going to have to deal with Bear and Daryl who I'm sure are going to want a word with you in private first which will be before there's a vote on what to do with you" J claimed with a shrug as he informed him about what the others might have in store for him as well and what would be done regarding what he did. "Now, to be honest I don't want to hear your shitty excuses about why you left them behind because I'm sure I already know why" with this being said the former SFC squatted down in front of the man as an amused looked came upon his face.

"I get it, big bad Shane was mad about having to go into the city and try to rescue a prick like Merle Dixon which everyone knew you never wanted to do in the first place. Not to mention, Rick coming back meant your sneaking off to fuck Lori in the woods, which honestly I'm sure everyone knows about, was over along with all those feelings you developed would become worthless" Jake said the first sentence in a mocking tone as if he were talking to a child before letting his voice go back to normal. The kneeling man's eyes widened upon hearing that one of the men he disliked and possibly the whole camp knew about he and Lori's 'couplings', though grew angry when hearing his feelings were being made fun of.

"Face it dipshit..." Shane receives a hard open hand smack to the side of his head "she doesn't love you, never did and never will because what you don't know is that poor, poor woman was fucking you out of necessity because she felt like a debt was owed for you saving her and Carl's lives. I honestly feel bad for her, having to continuously have to touch while also being left sexually unsatisfied after every time you to were together." J knows he was getting pretty cruel attacking the man this way, that he was showing a side very few people had ever seen while twisting the imaginary knife in the pricks gut. Fortunately, Rone was one of them and he didn't have to fear his long time friend judging or thinking differently of him because of this.

Let's just say the first time TJ had seen this side of him back in high school when the Jock of all Jocks started picking on former Engineering student for being a 'nerd'. Hearts and noses were broken during that time and nobody ever messed with Ty again.

"Now, what I honestly want to know, is did you really think Lori would go back to fucking you if the husband who according to you was dead, which she's still pissed at you for lying about, were to 'die' just after being reunited while out on a run you were apart of? Not to mention, the others also 'dying' while you were somehow magically the sole survivor? It's a shitty plan if you ask me, not well thought out, and a very pathetic one if you think about it. Especially, if you thought it would work and since you did then, man, you're a fucking idiot" the former Ranger tells him while talking to the man as if he were a moron because well, he was. The angry look in Shane's eyes lets him know that the kneeling man is pissed off and if he did get free then there was no doubt he'd try to kill him or go after the people he cared about, that he was near being unhinged, a threat to the group.

They couldn't have that. Too many monsters were already roaming around and another one couldn't be afforded. So, after patting dickhead on the shoulder Jake stood up and turned to Rone who he gave a nod to before heading for the tent exit. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see Ty strike the tied up man across the face with the butt of his gun knocking out their traitorous group member once again.

Damn, maybe Lori was right, maybe he was a monster, but the only difference is he knew when to be a monster and when to be the man they all knew. J felt as if he should make some potion because that realization just made him feel as if he were Dr. Jekyll with his own Mr. Hyde inside of him waiting for the next time he would be let out.

"Dead piece of shit" Bear grumbled as he ran over his fourth walker in the last thirty minutes since they hot wired the truck they were currently using to get back to camp. He would've ran over more, but his main concern was getting back to the others and not killing undead motherfuckers. The group of five had traveled farther away from their temporary home during the time that fucking herd of walkers was chasing their asses down every street and alley they'd come across until finally receiving some luck in the form of an escape.

"What're we going to do about Shane when we get back to camp?" Glenn asked from his spot in the backseat between T-Dog and Daryl with a glock, since the MPK was kept by the Vatos. All of their bags were in the bed of the truck since it allowed for more room.

"I don't know bout y'all, but I'm gone knock his fucking teeth out" the Hillbilly biker claimed in a serious tone that let everyone know that he'd made up his mind and it wouldn't be changed. He's hated Shane since they first met and the man started treating him and his brother like pieces of shit, now he had a reason to beat the man's ass, his chance to pay him back for all the crap he'd given them and for leaving them behind.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody is touching Shane when we get back" Rick said in an authoritative tone from his spot in the passenger seat which caused the sniper to look at the man with an angry look then step on the brake causing the truck to skid across the road until it came to a stop.

"If that's your final answer then your ass better get out this truck right now and find another way back to camp before walkers show up because there ain't no way in hell I'm going to let you keep me from kicking that son of a bitch's ass for what he did. Those who agree with him can hop out as well" the former SSG claimed in a serious tone while leveling the former Sheriff's deputy with a glare that said he won't be backing down. The uniform wearing man just stared back at him with a wide eyed look at the level of anger that could be seen behind the snipers eyes.

"So, what's it going to be?" Aaron asked the other man who turned at the sound of a walker hitting his window while trying to get to him, his eyes then noticed more were starting to appear and head towards them. "Clock's ticking."

"Rick, just give him what he wants" Glenn told the former deputy from his spot when he himself began noticing the walkers closing in around them and began growing scared.

"Come on, man" T-Dog added in. The uniform wearing male looked back at the other two then to Daryl who was just looking out the window with what looked like he hadn't a care in the world what the man said because he already made up his mind and was either going to benefit from this win-win situation.

If they hopped out then who knows how long until they can get another vehicle or if they'd even survive while Bear and Daryl would make it back before they did and would ultimately get their way. Then again, if he agreed then they'd get what they wanted either way, so sending one more glance toward T-Dogg and Glenn he chose his answer.

"Fine, I won't stop you" Rick told him and that's all the former Ranger needed to hear before pushing down on the gas causing the truck to begin moving forward once again, another walker had gotten run over in the process. The Grimes male gave a sigh of both relief and defeat, he only hoped that he'd be able to forgive himself for the fate that was going to fall upon his once best friend when they got back to camp. He didn't doubt that man Jake had already thrown in his two-sense and his friend no longer looked like he last saw him.

Nobody made a sound the rest of the drive back to camp, each having their own thoughts on their mind. Two were of vengeance, one was still trying to accept what Shane had done, one realized none of this would've happened if the shaggy haired male hadn't pushed for a whole group to go into town instead of the usual Jake and Glenn, while the last wondered how safe everyone back at camp truly was with men like the two former Rangers and Daryl still apart of it.

The last man also wondered how long it may be until something else bad happens that ends with more people getting hurt, whether he could get the group to see how dangerous they were because dangerous men weren't needed but then again both had risked their lives for others of the group. The former SFC made sure those who were with him got out of the city the day before while the sniper came up with the solution to keeping them and the Vatos from creating a bloodbath. Maybe having two dangerous men willing to do what was needed for the safety and survival of the group wasn't such a bad thing. He mentally sighed at the problem he was facing.

Though all of them had one thought in common upon noticing how the city began to grow dark the longer they were on the road. They each wanted to be out of the city before night had fully set.

After arriving back at his tent Jake moved over to his cot which he knelt in front of before reaching under and pulling out a rifle case and opened it to reveal a customized tactical Marlin Model 336 with two grip rails consisting of one at the top which had an ACOG scope and another at the bottom which had a bipod grip, strap, and a full bullet sleeve on the stock. He pulled out the rifle and saw that it was still loaded from when he loaded it after everything began. Also inside of the case was a suppressor which he pulled out and twisted onto the barrel of his rifle before placing the gun down on his cot then reached back in and grabbed the ammo belt which he slipped over his shoulders.

Again J moved his hand back under the cot and pulled out another gun case though this one smaller and opened it to reveal an Uberti Cattleman along with its holster and ammo belt which he wrapped around his waist. Once that was down the 23 year old moved over towards his machete which he grabbed and strapped to his back. The group may not have wanted him to be armed, but with Shane currently tied up, Ed out of commission, and Jim somewhat still out of it the group could use all the protection it could get. Plus, he had gut feeling something bad was approaching and there was no way he was going to face it without a gun in his hand and since Bear along with the others still having not made it back yet had him feeling more uneasy.

When he was all done the former Ranger exited the tent only for everyone to once again look over at him and most of their eyes widened when they saw him armed, he could see majority of them were scared at the sight of him because of the guns, though he didn't care. Jake walked over towards the RV and made his way towards the top where he took a seat on a lawn chair and began watching over the group who after a while continued on with their day after seeing he wasn't going to do anything.

-x-

An hour later night had fallen and almost everyone, excluding Shane and Ed with Jim having cooled down and released, were gathered around the camp fires to keep warm. Meanwhile, Jake still sat atop the RV where a few minutes ago he'd been joined by Sophia who had curled into his side to stay warm while Carol sat around one of the fires where she was talking to Amy and Andrea while every once in a while sparing them a glance.

A few minutes later after Morales and Dale had a conversation regarding the older male's watch and how he set it everyday around the same time. This in turn led to the senior member of their group explaining how he once heard something regarding time which was said by some famous poet though J hadn't paid enough attention to hear the name.

After that conversation the younger of the Harrison sister got up only to be question what she was doing by her older sibling only to reply how she had to pee and was trying to keep it private before heading towards the RV leaving Andrea looking slightly guilty. For a few seconds the camp had grown quiet and Jake heard a low moaning sound that he'd heard hundreds of time before which caused him to instantly get to his feet and search the area when he saw a walker.

"Do we have any toilet paper?" Amy asked while exiting the recreational vehicle though stayed at the door when something latched onto her forearm. She immediately turned and saw what it was which caused a scream to make its way out of her throat and just as the walker was about to bite into her, but was stopped by a bullet piercing the top of it skull and blowing its brains out the back killing it.

Another scream rang out through the camp and everyone turned to see dozens upon dozens of walkers emerging from both the dirt road and tree line. Everyone quickly got to their feet and what followed was pure chaos as most of them running around trying to escape the undead while those with weapons pulled them out and began firing or ran to their tents to grab them.

"Get the kids into the RV!" Jake shouted as he aimed his rifle at another walker and blew its brains out before aiming at another and doing the same.

His gaze momentarily scanned the group and saw Jase and Rone covering each others backs while trying to make their way over towards the mobile home, the Harrison sister emerged from their tent with the weapons they'd been handed earlier, Carol knowing her baby was safe helped Lori and Morales' wife get their children to safety while both the Grimes and Peletier woman shot their guns, Jim was protecting Jacqui, Dale was using the sniper rifle which proved to be a bit too powerful for him, and Morales appeared from inside his tent with the MP5 which he began shooting at approaching walkers. Though due to their lack of training with firearms which was honestly visible because it resulted in more body than head shots, which came once in awhile, and it was a waste of ammo because not many walkers were being killed.

"Sophia, sweetheart, i'm going to need your help" Jake said to the young child while aiming at another undead motherfucker and blowing its rotten brains out. Afterwards, he looked to the child who was looking at him with wide scared eyes and while he wanted to comfort her, right now they were pressed for time, so all he did was remove his ammo belt and handed it to her which the girl accepted.

"Pull out five bullets from the belt" J instructed the 11 year old who with shaking hands quickly began doing as she was told which made it a slow process though not wanting to rush the child and scare her more and instead turned back to the chaos below and fired of his last rifle round then turned back to Sophia who had managed to pull out three bullets. "Soph, I'm going to need you to reload for me, okay?" He asked her which caused the Peletier child to look at him in shock at his instructions, but quickly nodded.

"You're going to push five bullets into this slot then hand it to me" was all the former SFC told his 'daughter' figure before handing her the rifle, which she had trouble carrying, then turning back to the fight below while pulling out his six shooter and taking aim where he took out two out of three with someone killing the third.

'Shit' the once Army Ranger mentally cursed when he missed a shot which resulted in the walker taking a chunk out a group members neck causing them to begin choking on their own blood. 'Fuck you' taking another shot at the same undead fuck he got it this time. Seeing two of them approaching Lori and Carol who were both reloading he trained the barrel on the two walkers and blew their brains outs leaving the gun empty.

"Jake!" Sophia shouted and he turned to see her holding out the rifle which he quickly took then handed the child his six shooter leaving her once again shocked that he'd given her a gun. Reaching over to the Uberti he opened up the ammo slot "face the barrel up and spin this... " he pointed to the cartridge "six times then pull six bullets from this belt" put his finger on the ammo belt he was still wearing "and put them in there then close it" once again after giving Soph instructions he turned back and took aim.

"J!" This caused him to turn away from his target and looked down to see his cousin who was being covered by Rone and gestured towards the distance which the 23 year old followed the move only to see a freed Shane making his way through camp towards the RV with his shotgun and taking out walkers.

"Right now, we have bigger problems!" He shouted back then turned and once again took aim and fired killing another walker. Lights coming up the dirt road caught his attention which caused him to look over in time to see a walker get run over by an orange truck where five people immediately piled out of and began shooting at the undead.

"Rick!" A voice that sounded much like Lori's called out, but Jake didn't pay it much mind. Just because the others were back didn't mean they were out of the woods yet and walkers still kept coming, people were shouting they were running out of ammo, and more screams of people being killed were ringing through the air. Unaware to the ex-soldier Shane had made his way up the RV ladder without anyone noticing and had snuck up behind the pair though since he was out of ammo he pulled out his knife.

Rushing forward he knocked Sophia down causing her to fall near the edge and drop the six shooter in the process though the shaggy haired male didn't pay the child any attention and instead brought his blade down into Jake's shoulder causing the 23 year old to cry out in immense pain, which was blocked out by unsuppressed guns being fired before falling down onto the RV's roof. Originally, he was aiming for the former soldiers head, but he turned to aim at another walker which threw off Shane's 'kill shot' that now became a wound maker though it would have to do.

"Told you I'd kill you!" The traitorous motherfucker shouted then reached down and twisted the blade, literally, getting another pain filled cry to tear its way past the former soldiers lips which too was covered by a gunshot before he pulled the blade out. Shane then reached down and flipped him over so that he could look up and see the unhinged look in his eyes while he raised his knife to deal the final blow.

"No!" They heard Sophia cry followed by another gunshot ringing out that had a bullet piercing through Shane's body from back to front though Jake knew it was nowhere near any vital organs. Normally, even though it wasn't a vital hit it still would've sent a person to their knees, but someone being fueled by range they wouldn't have felt it which the shaggy haired hadn't and instead turned around and struck Sophia across the face sending her down towards the roof once again.

"Little bitch!" He shouted out then kicked the 11 year old in the gut causing her to cry out in pain as she rolled across the roof until stopping and curling herself into a ball while holding her stomach as she cried. This caused a surge of adrenaline of pure rage as well as the need to protect his 'daughter' figure from suffering anymore pain and possibly death that allowed him to quickly roll over and push himself up onto his feet and charge the man.

"Motherfucker!" Jake roared in rage before literally tackling the man off the RV and cliff sending them both soaring down into the Quarry below.

"Dad!" Everyone heard Sophia cry out just as the shooting stopped causing everyone to turn away from their fallen group members and now fully dead walkers in order to scan the camp for Ed, but quickly realized she hadn't been calling for him upon remembering how she hadn't called the Peletier male that since Jake 'saved' them weeks ago. That's when they all turned and looked up towards the RV's roof where the SFC was nowhere in sight nor was the Peletier child.

"Sophia!" Carol broke from her trance and ran for the RV's ladder, but she was beat to it by Bear who without sparing Peletier matriarch a glance climbed up and quickly moved over towards Sophia who was looking down over the other side of the recreational vehicle while holding her middle.

"Soph, what happened? Are you okay? Where's Jake?" Bear quickly asked the child who turned to him and tackled him into a hug as she cried into his chest while letting out what could only be described as cries of loss just as Carol climbed onto the roof.

"Baby!" The Peletier woman called out to her daughter and kneeled down beside Bear only to have the child release the sniper and hugged her mother as she continued to cry. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's over, you're safe" she tried to sooth the child while smoothing down her hair. While Carol also wondered where J was, Sophia was her main priority at the moment.

Tearing his eyes away from the mother and daughter, Aaron turned and looked over the roof only to see his best friends lever-action and six shooter lying in different place along with a small pool of blood that had his eyes opening wide in shock and fear.

"Sophia, what happened to your face? Who hit you?" The Peletier matriarch asked in shock as she cupped her daughter's cheeks though avoided touching the girls reddening cheek and puffy cut lip. "Baby, you can tell me."

"He went over the side momma, he was protecting me from Shane" both adults heard the child say softly between between sobs from her spot nestled into her mother's chest. Carol and Aaron sent each other wide eyed looks before looking towards the edge.

Moving quickly over towards the edge once again Bear peered over the side overlooking the Quarry just as Jase climbed onto the roof. What the sniper saw down below him dropping his SR-25 and without thinking jumped down into the water below.

Jase quickly ran over towards where one of his older 'brothers' jumped off of only to fall to his knees with tears flowing down the teens face at what he saw. Other than the splash created by the former SSG who had just risen from below the water, were two motionless facing downwards figures floating with both both surrounded by blood though only one had a knife sticking out of their skull.

 **A/N** : Here you go guys, another chapter written and uploaded. Leave a review, hope y'all didn't think it sucked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry guys this is not a chapter update, but me informing you that I'm thinking about rewriting the fic from chapter 1 which some things being changed. Such as, Jake along with Bear possibly being aged up a year each and Tyrone becoming 29 with the back story of how they all know each other being altered. Jase will not appear until S2 with another OC Sara (Glenn's pairing) and Rone in S3 to help lighten the load of OC dialogue and ease into somewhat povs better and later. Plus, it will go better with how I plan certain parts of the war with the Governor to go and it would give a better beginning to Rone and Andrea meeting and getting together.**

 **Pairings will remain the same with Jake sleeping with Lori (she'll continue to be paired with him not really a spoiler though not until end of S2 beginning of S3) then going on to be with Carol and Maggie as well. Contrary to what I'm sure most of you believe is him having a harem, which it isn't because I consider and will describe it to be a polyamorous relationship between the three of them and I'm sure you've all already figured out who his 'recent' girlfriend was, somewhat, and why she'd be okay with it will be explained with also why the other two would. Jake and Sophia's father/daughter relationship will also be the same. Bear will still be paired with Amy and later on Sasha for reasons I'll explain. Rone will be with Andrea and possibly Lilly (woman Governor slept with who is played by Audrey Marie Anderson). Jase will be paired with Beth and only her, Beth in a way is too innocent and I don't feel like changing that, much, and there really isn't any other teens I could add to him without creating another OC unless you guys want that then give me some ideas (though if it happens it won't be until S4). Daryl will get an OC (really badass woman in my opinion), Rick will end up with Michonne, Tyreese with Karen, Sophia with Carl though later on, and Shane well he dies no spoiler there.**

 **The whole gun and trailer situation may also be altered slightly though mainly in the way of how they came to have majority of the weapons. I'll work on the action and slowing it down as well as making it more detailed. Work on drama, thinking of throwing Jake's hat in on the list regarding who Judith's father could be. Dialogue will hopefully be better too. I also plan to make it more of its namesake of the whole by any means necessary in regards to survival, retrieving their kidnapped group members, and getting out of sticky situations.**

 **Hopefully, that'll all come soon and the first chapter will be posted up by either Friday or Saturday. I hope you all somewhat like and enjoy with how I'm going to be changing some things up and the sort of same but different direction I'm going in.**

 **Let me know what you all are feeling, hoping it isn't negative. Until Next Time, N.T. signing off.**


	9. Update

**Sorry that this isn't a new chapter, but rather something to update you about what's going on with the rewrite for By Any Means Necessary (B.A.M.N) and when it will be uploaded as well as when The Hitman Jake O'Connell (T.H.J.O) will have a new chapter added. I know it's been awhile (a little more than 3 & 1/2 to be exact) since I last updated either one of them, but it's taking me a bit longer than I expected.**

 **Now I'm not going to make an excuse for why I'm taking so long and just tell you the truth because I'm sure most of you feel I should have a few chapters already typed out, but sadly I don't. Life has been a bit busy lately, I've also been a bit lazy, but I'm also having some trouble writing both of my TWD fics simply because I don't want them to be too similar to one another (plot wise) which they kind of already are seeing as Mercs and Hitmen/Assassins are different, but in a way are also similar to one another though T.H.J.O has less OCs. Not to mention, the first names are the same as well as the pairings in both fics though T.H.J.O doesn't have Lori and there's no dislike between the OC and Shane.**

 **I realize now, I should've given the similarities between the two fics more thought than I originally did and that's completely my fault. For that, I'm sorry.**

 **So... I was wondering what those who have actually read T.H.J.O would think about me changing it up a bit by making the OC younger maybe around 18-19 years old and pairing him with a younger Amy who will be 19 or maybe 20. Start from S1 like the first go round only maybe have some slight tension between himself and Shane with it being in the form of the former Deputy thinking him too inexperienced to be carrying around his own weapon.**

 **It's a good chance I'll add Beth into the mix (because she needs love too and I don't want to create another OC, B.A.M.N already has enough that I'll be creating, writing for, and mentioning) though it will happen after Jimmy's death on the farm. During the time between leaving the farm and finding the prison I'll have her bond with the only two people around her age, but it will only come in mentions and maybe a flashback or two.**

 **Either way, it still won't be for people who don't like someone being paired with more than one person. Much less an OC character with a canon character.**

 **Jake, will still be a Hitman, maybe I'll have him having barely started his career not long before the Outbreak happened. Of course, this would mean the medium sized arsenal I had planned out for him will be smaller, but no less cooler (least I think so) and his skills won't be as they originally were in the first go round nor would he have as many comparisons for his actions.**

 **I'll have a poll up so those who actually read the fic can vote for whether they think it's a good idea to change up the fic or or keep it the way it is. Either way it will be a bit longer before I post an update for either of them. The poll will be up for a week, maybe two.**

 **Now, in regards to B.A.M.N and other than trying not to make it too similar to my other fic, I'm having a bit of trouble writing the first chapter which does not have Jase or Ty though they will be mentioned (their appearances won't come until S2 and S3). The first chapter has been started and I plan to have parts similar to its first go round, but will also be having some changes which I won't spoil for those who actually read and liked the fic and because I haven't exactly wrote them out yet since I'm still trying to figure out how to write them without confusing people like I might've with the original.**

 **For some reason rewriting the fic is much harder than when I wrote the original and I kid you not when I say I've started and restarted the fic maybe six or seven times with me trying to completely change it up, but that hadn't worked out all that well. Though with the current version I'm writing it's the farthest I've gotten between all of the rewrites and the one that's working best. (If that makes sense)**

 **I promise you I'll work harder on getting you all an update within the coming weeks though if I haven't by two weeks from now, expect it at least before Christmas. I don't want to start the New Year on the wrong foot with you guys.**

 **Until next time, this is me signing off.**


	10. Update, but not an update

**For those of you who actually looked forward to the rewrite of By Any Means Necessary, this is an update as to why i haven't posted the rewritten fic yet.**

 **After my last update I got myself a job that had me working shifts from 5:30am-7:30pm sometimes 8:00pm, 6 days a week with the occasional two day weekend off depending on the weather which sometimes extended it. This halted any chances of me being able to write since I never had more than 3 hrs off before having to go to sleep. Plus, I didn't have my laptop nor was it a major priority. The pay was good though. But I no longer work there which just happened recently.**

 **My laptop broke and everything i had regarding this fic were on it and are now gone which means I had to get a new one and I'm starting from scratch.**

 **Writer's block is a bitch, but I've got some ideas.**

 **I'm still a newbie when it comes to writing and plotting, like the ideas flow but I have trouble putting it on paper or rather typing it out.**

 **I'm an eh writer.**

 **That's basically it. I know, I know, explaining the situation and all that is something y'all may not care to hear, but I'd rather you all know instead of thinking I'm a crappy person.**

 **I'll hopefully have something soon. One thing I do have is a new fic title so it will no longer be By Any Means Necessary, but rather A Changed World though it might just be Changed World but I'm not fully sure yet.**

 **The Hitman Jake O'Connell will be discontinued unfortunately, maybe one day I'll rewrite it, but not anytime soon. Anyone want to adopt it then PM me, but fyi the last chapter there is all I had for it so you basically can continue how you want it from there or rewrite it, up to you.**

 **I have an idea for a new fic, but with my track record it may not be a good idea, but I'm going to give it a go gonna give it a go anyway.**


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